


Rogue Knight

by Illuviar



Category: Gundam SEED, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-01 07:00:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 45,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10916730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illuviar/pseuds/Illuviar
Summary: This is sequel to my stories Gundam Seed Intervention and Imperial Knight as well as the prequel of my story The Sith of Brockton Bay, which could be found on FF.net, the space battle's forums, sufficient velocity forums and alternative history.comReading them before starting Rogue Knight is not necessary or required.Here is a short synopsis:A man with the memories and skills of a Sith Warrior from a conflict that ended four millennia ago find himself thrown in the opening weeks of the Clone Wars. He has a mission - deal with the current Sith Lord and his supporters permanently and prepare the galaxy for the eventual arrival of the Vong. This is a SI story.





	1. Prologue&Chapter 1

**AN: This was betaed by Chunq and bigreader on the Space Battles forums, and Dymian on FF net! Thank you for the splendid work!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.**

**Prologue: A Shadow From The Past**

**=RK=**

 

“God damn it!” I shouted as loud as I could, before becoming aware that I was no longer in the seat of my disintegrating Dragon. In a futile attempt to save a pair of ZAFT pilots whose Mobile Suits were wrecked, I got caught on the edge of the CYCLOPS system, just as it detonated under the EA headquarters in Alaska. The display screens in my X311 cockpit shattered one after another, showering me with pieces of their monitors. All I knew was a wave of unbelievable agony. The last thing I remember was the incredible heat that caused my blood to boil.

 

Then I was here. Again. The Earth was just as breathtaking as the first time I saw it from this position, all those months ago.

 

Ever since I ended in the GS universe, I flirted with death on countless battlefields, yet feeling it actually claim me was... Disconcerting. “I fucked up and should be dead,” I said in a hollow voice.

“You should be. However, I made a deal,” a melodic voice sounded from behind me. It was the ROB that had plucked me from my home dimension.

 

I did not bother turning around. She liked her mysterious act and stayed invisible.

 

“Which means that I need to deal with another mess,” I stated.

 

“Correct. Then, if you do not get yourself killed, I'll be able to return you here shortly before JOSH-A was destroyed. I'll be nice and won't tell your girlfriend about that stunt you pulled.”

 

I winced. Ever since I was sent here, I had to deal with a mountain of troubles, which became much harder when my “favorite” ROB decided to become a chat buddy with my girlfriend. They had a lot of fun at my expense...

 

“Ahh. Don't pout. After all, she's the main reason I went to all that trouble of giving you a second chance.”

 

“Who needs to die this time?”

 

“Funny you ask. You don’t remember, do you?” The woman sighed. “It was to be expected, yet...”

 

“What are you talking about?” I asked confused.

 

“One Republic Chancellor, a few of his cronies in the Senate, and the Separatist leadership. You have a war to end. Oh, yeah, you must also prepare the galaxy to face the Vong. They aren’t exactly what you expect… Have fun!”

 

The curses that left my mouth are not fit for print.

 

**=RK=**

 

I awoke, slumped over the controls of a fighter. That's an upgrade from the shuttle ride where my last adventure started.

 

I frowned. There was something wrong with that thought.

 

I shook my head and looked around.

 

This time, my mind was clear. There was no sign of the numbness that plagued me for a week after my previous trans-dimensional travel. Those were the high points of my situation.

 

On the other hand, I was in a cramped cockpit of a fighter I knew did not possess an FTL drive, and I had no idea where I was. My arms, which were clad in unexpectedly light and comfortable armored gloves, ran over the controls as I checked the status of my ride. It was a modified Sith Interceptor, with a shield generator installed, as well as laser cannons with enhanced capacitors allowing a sustained rapid fire. Lastly, there were two racks of light proton torpedoes under the wings for attacks against hardened targets.

 

As far as fighters go, my interceptor was a sweet killing machine. However, that did not help me with my current predicament. I was Force knew where, without a hyperdrive. I hoped that ROB did not mess up, and left me here only to slowly suffocate.

 

I blinked in confusion. It just now dawned to me that the cockpit was very familiar. I was sure I’ve flown this fighter before – a lot of times in fact. There was something almost like a deja vu going on.

Kriff it, what did that being do to me this time?!

 

I checked the starfighters sensors. I could detect some gravitational disturbances at the edges of the scanner's range. So, there was probably at least one planet in the system. I hoped that it was inhabited or at least life bearing or I was kriffed beyond belief.

 

And what’s with using kriff instead of fuck? Granted it sounded right damn it but well… Argh…

I returned my attention to the situation at hand – it was less vexing that way.

 

My hands ran over the controls and the Sith Interceptor’s engines roared to life under gentle touch. The nimble, little spacecraft carried me deeper into the system. I gave the autopilot a general course plot, and started checking what resources I had at my disposal.

 

I was wearing a black robe covered by durasteel armor. My head was protected by a mandalorian styled helmet, with an integrated computer projecting a small HUD display on which the status of my armor, oxygen supply, and shields were shown. It was good to know that I had some additional protection aside from the laminated sheets of durasteel and armored weave of my robe. I knew exactly what punishment it could handle so there was no need to test it. While my current outfit wasn’t as durable as a proper heavy armor, it could still handle a lot of the stuff usually thrown my way.

 

My armor had some neat features. Like a dart launcher on the left arm guard, with knock out, poison and ion enhanced munitions. I guessed that the last was for taking out droids. I was armed with a pair of heavy blaster pistols, and had four power cells for each. For tougher situations, I had a pair of thermal detonators, four frag grenades and two ion pulse grenades. For a moment, I thought that I was inhabiting the body of a bounty hunter, which wouldn't be too bad if two of my targets were not Sidious and his apprentice. I did not relish the thought of facing those bastards as anything less than a powerful Force adept.

 

Huh. That thought… I’m sure I’ve been acting as something that could be vaguely described as a bounty hunter for years, yet putting it that way simply didn’t sound right. I was sure I haven’t done it as a mercenary but simply because of orders I didn’t dare disobey.

 

Did I hunt Jedi or something…

 

A lance of pain split my skull at that thought. No. Not Jedi.

 

Sith. I could remember now. Orders. Locations all over the galaxy – hunt down and dispose of low grade Sith who had went off the reservation and caused trouble for the Empire…

 

Wait what? Palpatine’s Empire? Why would I need to take out a Chancellor or Separatists leaders then…

 

The pain intensified.

 

Sith. Sith Empire. It wasn’t been a bounty hunter I vaguely recalled. It remembered being a partially trained Sith Acolyte whose good for nothing master sent me hunting embaracements for the Empire. I spent years at that job before returning to the Academy on Korriban and becoming a proper Sith under another master.

 

I had the Force then, didn’t I?

 

What the kriff?!

 

It was like a veil that had been covering every one of my senses was suddenly lifted. I truly saw, heard, and felt for the first time in my life. My senses went into an overdrive and I was lost. I saw even the tiniest imperfection on the control panel of my craft, I could hear every little sound and sense each vibration made by the interceptor. My armor felt like shards of broken glass upon my skin. Even the tiniest twitch caused me to feel stabbing pain as my clothes rubbed on my oversensitive flesh.

Then it became much worse. A tsunami of memories – were they mine or not?! -  hit my mind in an unyielding wave. My world exploded as a whole life flashed before my eyes as I remembered.

From the first memories as a small child on Dromund Kaas, to my misfortune in ending as a slave before manifesting the Force and being sent to Korriban after tearing apart my “master”...

 

It all ended with a titanic battle over Korriban where everything where I was engulfed in a flash of light. A Sith Lord who commanded the Imperial Fleet protecting that world activated a super weapon of some sort. I was sure of it. Then I felt the Force screaming of deadly danger and… what?

 

I shook my head, trying to clear it.

 

In a sense everything began and ended in the same place...

 

Korriban – the place where I arose from being one of the countless wretched slaves under the imperial yoke and became a Sith Warrior. It was there, where I chose to disregard most of the creed of the Empire, and to try to changing it from within.

 

It was Korriban, where my ambition died with tens of thousands of Sith and Republic sailors and I ended up here.

 

Somehow.

 

I snapped back to the present. My right hand fell to a cylinder, hidden in my robes, and I felt relieved the moment my fingers closed around it. Holding the hilt of my lightsaber, a weapon that was literally part of myself as far as the Force was concerned, soothed my nerves.

 

I used it as an anchor to stabilize my mind. The torrent of memories almost shattered my very being, nearly washing away who I was. This was not like the last time when I got only skills and fragments of someone else's past. This time it felt like I “lived” through the life of Darth Vael.

 

No. That wasn’t true at all. I know I lived as Vael. I was that Sith Lord and something went terribly wrong so I could be here and now… whatever here meant. I could feel it through the Force.

This was no accident.

 

I stared at the stars through the canopy of the cockpit. It made at twisted kind of sense. If this was happening to anyone else, I would have thought that this stunt of ROB's was pure genius. After all, who could be better at disposing of a Sith Lord and his Empire in the making than another of his own kind?

Yet, it made me furious. Granted, by the time I had that accident above Korriban, my life in the Empire had been torn apart and I had only vengeance left to look up to. A vengeance I had already engineered as I helped plan the Old Republic’s downfall.

 

I knew that my eyes, hidden under the helmet as they were, had a distinct yellow tinge around the irises as my fury grew.

 

I spent a lifetime as a Sith Lord and what now? Was it all erased? If I was indeed in the of Sidious and the CIS, then all I knew had been dust for millennia.

 

In my fury, I turned up to the Force, hoping that the Dark Side would soothe me. I tried to clean up my mind and think about my situation in a somewhat reasonable manner.

Instead, I was confused by the way the Force felt.

 

The Light Side was muted, as if there was a veil made of living shadows thrown over it. The Dark Side on the other hand... Well let’s just say that I had never felt it stronger or more seductive than it was right now. Not even on my one and only audience with the Emperor in his inner sanctum on Dromund Kaas.

 

Fear gripped my heart with fingers colder than the void between the stars. I had knowledge and skills from an old forgotten age. Even if, by some miracle, I prevailed over Palpatine and his army of cutthroats, there was no guarantee that I would not replace him and become something much worse.

I had nothing left to keep me in check. Everyone who mattered to me was dead… and that deal that ROB offered? It was about saving a woman I knew decades ago in a different universe.

I still felt something when I thought of her, yet… She wasn’t here to keep me company. To keep me sane.

 

For all its atrocities, Sidious and his Empire paled in comparison with the deaths and suffering caused by the Sith of old… By the Empire I served.

 

I laughed bitterly. It wasn’t like the galaxy needed a monster like me unleashed upon it once again…

 

**Phase 01: Use the Force, Luke!**

**=RK=**

**Part 1**

 

**Location: Still Unknown;**

 

The Sith Interceptor cruised through the unknown star system on autopilot, while I huddled in the pilot seat.

 

Being stuck here with only my memories for company, wasn’t doing me any favors. The only silver lining was that I could remember everything and sort out my head. The bad one was simple – I could very well imagine the horrors I could unleash upon the galaxy. If what I remembered from my time in my birthplace about the Clone Wars era was anything to go by, I had more knowledge of the Force and how it worked than all but a few actors in this day and age.

 

I was a veteran of a war the likes of which the galaxy hasn’t seen in more than millennia.

 

If I lost it and either fell to the Dark Side, or the more likely outcome – let it consume me in order to make the pain of losing everything I knew, everything I’ve worked to achieve… The consequences would made Palpy’s Empire look like particularly relaxing resort in comparison.

 

The Force itself didn't help me. The Dark Side was strong, alluring. It was whispering to me, like the devious seductress it was. She was promising everything I ever wanted, even if it couldn’t bring back my hearts desire.

 

However, the Dark Side could give me one thing – losing myself and ending the agony and that made her more dangerous than ever.

 

My personal pity party was interrupted when I felt a sudden chill. Somewhere, nearby, thousands of sentient beings were dying. I felt someone's malicious joy and in the same time I was sick to the pit of my stomach as I enjoyed feeling all those people die. As a Sith, there was a part of me that considered their dying cries as the finest beverage in the galaxy and craved more.

 

Enjoying the death of those unknown people made me feel dirty in a way I knew that no amount of bathing or decontamination could clean up too. This was one of the biggest pitfalls of using the Dark Side. It made you enjoy the suffering and agony of others and if you had a conscience, you hated it too. The dictochomy was something that would eventually drive all but a few insane or straight into the clutches of the Dark Side.

 

The only way to keep experiencing that from driving you insane was to have people you cared about centering you. People to keep you sane.

 

“Bloody hell...” I muttered. It was almost like feeling a lot of people die for the first time.

 

Whatever the process that brought me here, it did a number on me, didn’t it?

 

With a thought, I shut down the interceptor's auto pilot and the small ship changed its flight path as I used the Force to guide it. I barely felt the acceleration when the twin engines roared to life and jumped from cruise mode to eighty percent of max acceleration.

 

The place where I felt people dying was calling to me like a siren's song.

 

**=RK=**

 

The clock shown on my HUD counted that forty-three minutes had passed from when I sensed the deaths. It took me that long to reach the general area where I felt people dying.

 

It was obvious what had happened – war. I could see a small debris field made by the shattered forms of three large ships. From what I could remember, which wasn’t as much as I would like after all this time, I was observing the remains of Republic cruisers. Proto stardstroyers or something in that vein. The shattered hulls told the story of a dagger like design – what the Republic preferred to field before its transformation in Palpy’s empire during the Clone Wars.

 

Three destroyed cruisers in a system with a red star. Why was this image ringing an alarm bell?!

 

I shrugged. Expecting to remember details from a show and movies I’ve watched so long ago was funny and foolish.

 

I started scanning for survivors with both the Force and my fighter's sensors. A display on my control panel lit up with few clusters of life signs, one of which winked out moments later. I felt cold pangs as the people died. Probably Clones if    I was when I presumed to be.

 

Briefly, all my attention focused on the whispers of the Force, trying to determine where should I go.

 

That cluster of survivors, the one on the far left. It felt more important than the rest. My hands went to the controls and I headed that way.

 

I deftly evaded the hundreds of pieces of demolished ships which were tumbling around the few remaining big parts of the cruisers. Without the Force guiding my hands, navigating this clusterfuck would have been moderately challenging and dangerous. However, I was cheating using my powers so it was just like a training exercise in a simulator set on easy.

 

A curious sight greeted me when I reached the life signs. An escape pod was gripped by an oddly shaped craft. It looked like a robot's manipulator with four fingers.

 

Four fragile looking droids appeared from the center of that strange craft, where the middle of the palm would be if it really was a hand. They had something that resembled miner's helmets on their heads, right down to the round light mounted on the front. The robots had rocket packs on their backs which they used to maneuver in space.

 

I’ve seen a lot of weird droids in my day, but still, those were quite odd.

 

My fighter’s computer detected wireless comms and automatically tapped into them. To my surprise, the encryption was quite basic and it was broken into within moments.

 

I heard synthetic voices speaking with unfamiliar accents.

 

“Let's pop this can!” An overly enthusiastic droid said.

 

It was easily to guess which one spoke as I saw one of the robots activat a blowtorch mounted on its right forearm.

 

The Sith part of me grumbled in irritation at my decision to save what I suspected to be Clone Troopers.

 

They were Republic scum!

 

The more reasonable part of my mind conceded the fact and countered by pointing out that the Old Republic that was my enemy had been gone for a long, long time. With a bit of luck, the Empire had used the strategy I helped devise and won the war.

 

I dialed down the power of my fighter's laser cannons to near hand-held weapon's strength and unloaded a barrage of crimson laser bolts at the quartet of unsuspecting robots.

 

The droids didn't stand a chance. With no shields and obviously being mass-produced expendable grunts, they were annihilated by the underpowered laser blasts of my weapons. After I made sure that there were no more of the killer robots milling around, I positioned my fighter so that I had a good view of the inside of the capsule.

 

There were a pair of dark-skinned clones, who were wearing blueish, almost gray, navy uniforms. No armor which could be sealed if their escape pod was breached by something.

 

I guess it was their lucky day. Probably mine too, because they looked like officers and now they owed me their lives.

 

Well that sealed it. Seeing the Clones all but guaranteed that I was sometime during the Clone Wars. I knew it was unlikely that ROB kriffed up in when she placed me, but it was good to have independent confirmation, especially given what happened with my memories.

 

After all, the first few minutes after I awoke, I was pretty sure  I’ve been sent here directly from my Gundam back on Earth.

 

I shook my head in exaperation. It was time to have a chat with the locals.

 

“Escape pod, this is Rogue Knight, please respond.” I said once my flight computer could determine the frequency they  were using. I used the call sign I got after qualifying as a pilot in the Empire… how long ago was that? Sixty years or was it seventy?

 

I sighed. Damn I felt old. Only learning how to use the Force to slow down my aging by my first proper master – Darth Baras – allowed me to look like I was in my mid-thirties nowadays. Otherwise, I would probably look worse than Palpy in the last movie or something.

 

When I finally got an answer, it came from another capsule – one that was tumbling towards my current position.

 

There was a shift in the Force coming from that direction, which made me pay attention to the newcomers. I knew that feeling quite well. There was a bloody Jedi on the second escape pod!

 

I shook my head in exasperation. Obviously ROB wanted to make my life interesting from the start. I smiled in anticipation. The Jedi’s reaction once they knew what I was was going to be interesting.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 2**

**Republic fleet's debris field**

**Unknown System**

 

“This is capsule one-nine-seven-seven. Thank you for the help,” said a voice which had the characteristic distortion of one wearing a breathing mask.

 

“You are welcome. After an accident I happen to be stuck in this system without operational FTL. You wouldn't happen to have a way out of here, do you?” I asked cheerfully while using a Force technique known to many Sith of my time to cloak my Force Alignment. No reason to spook the Jedi for the moment.

 

It wasn’t going to hold up to a close scrutiny, but I was safe until we met face to face.

 

While I waited for an answer, I examined the droid ship. Now that I think about it, the craft was somewhat familiar. I thought I have a vague recollection of this situation. If I was lucky, and I remembered right, I had landed during the early months of the Clone Wars.

 

“We are sending distress signal to all Republic forces. I hope that someone will be here soon.” The response came a few seconds later.

 

“Preferably before whoever sent the droids figures out that they are gone and decides to pay us a visit.” I muttered.

 

While my fighter was start of the art, I was a few thousands of years in the future. Further, the CIS obvious had enough forces in system to wreck three capital ships just an hour ago. That’s why I was reluctant in pitting my interceptor against anything modern without first seeing for myself how the future hardware compared to what I had available.

 

“That's nice mess we landed into this time,” One of the clones spoke over the comm.

 

“I do not want to be pessimist, General, but I do not believe that someone will come searching for us any time soon,” interjected another.

 

So the Jedi was a General, not just a small strike force leader. I should be careful until I knew their abilities.

 

At that moment the scanner on my fighter pinged. A ship had entered the debris field.

 

“Well, someone came, all right.” I sent to the Jedi and the Cones. “This is Rogue Knight to the unknown ship that just entered the debris field. Please respond.” I hailed the newcommer.

 

“This is Jedi Knight Skywalker. Who is this?” An irritated voice answered.

 

Oh, my. The so called Chosen One himself. I wondered how did he compare in real life to what I remembered from the media back home.

 

“This is Delkatar Veil, I am parked near two escape pods with survivors. Follow my signal.” I shot back.

 

“This is Jedi Master Plo Koon. Good to hear from you Skywalker.” The other Jedi decided to introduce himself.

 

“Master Jedi, would you mind giving me a lift out of this system? I'm a bit stuck.” I added my two credits.

 

“That shouldn't be a problem,” Plo Koon answered.

 

There was curious silence coming from Skywalker’s end.

 

**=RK=**

 

Skywakler’s ship was a kriffing flying scrap pile that looked like it was held together with space tape, spit and prayers. It was also far uglier than my very vague recollections from the show featuring the damn thing.

 

In the end, I had to ditch my interceptor and take a spacewalk to the open compartment of Skywalker ship. It was a good thing that my armored robes were in fact an armor suit that could be sealed and was rated for short vacuum exposure. Using the Force, I navigated through the short distance between our spacecraft and landed at the back of Skywalker’s ship.

 

I stepped through a force field that kept the air inside what looked like a cargo space and found myself face to face with master Koon – who apparently was a Kel Dor Male.

 

The moment he saw me, I could practically feel his glare.

 

Yeah, I looked the splitting image of heavily armored Sith Warrior from ages past and in my case looks weren’t deceiving. Besides, from this short range, my camouflaging technique was less effective. Perhaps I should have put an effort in mastering it, but back in the day that simply wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t like most people – both friend and foe alike didn’t know me by sight.

 

“I am not your enemy, Jedi.” I raised my hands in a gesture showing that I meant no harm. I wasn’t ready to make today’s Jedi Order my enemy. I lacked the resources needed for such a conflict and right now, the Jedi were my way out of this system.

 

“You reek of the Dark side. Whatever you did to conceal it is no longer working.” The Kel Dor snapped.

 

“That technique served its purpose.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “If I meant you harm, master Jedi, I would have blown up your escape pods.”

 

While we were chatting, the pair of clone troopers had raised their weapons and taken positions between their navy brethren and me. They were soon joined Skywalker and his apprentice, who moved closer to me and were gripping the hilt of their lightsabers.

 

I looked at the Chosen One. Huh. The show did capture him quite well. The same went for the young Togruta who was obviously Anakin’s padawan.

 

“Three Jedi versus little old me and it’s you who’re feeling apprehensive.” I pointed out. Their nervousness was like a beacon for my emphatic senses.

 

Koon tilted his head to the left.

 

“I sense no deception coming from you.” He froned.

 

“No need for it right now. As I said I need a ride out of here. And if you are wondering I am not with those droids.” I said.

 

When facing presumably competent Force Adepts, one should keep their lies to a minimum. That’s way, when you really need to lie your ass off, its more likely they’ll buy it if you have a way to cloak your intentions from them.

 

It was astounding how well you could lie by omission or when you simply decline to volunteer information.

 

“Who are you with then?” asked Asoka.

 

“If my suspicions are correct, I’m with myself ever since earlier today.” I spoke unhelpfully. “You can consider me as a mercenary.” It was all true, from a certain point of view. When all was said and done, right now my only alegiance was to myself.

 

“Bounty hunter!” spat Skywalker.

 

“Young Jedi, you don’t want me to be something else, trust me about that.”

 

I raised an eyebrow at Skywalker’s tone and the waves of anger coming from him. I didn’t know that he hated the practitioners of that profession. That was new. However, considering that he spent his childhood as a slave on Tatooine, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination that he might have a problem with mercenaries and bounty hunters. Most of those he would have had experience with, would have been employed by the Hutts.

 

“Skywalker, that’s enough.” Plo Koon chided the much younger man. “A mercenary you say?” The Jedi asked.

 

“Well, I find myself in a need of work. Well paying one.” I shrugged.

 

“I can sens the Dark Side in you… mercenary.” The Kel Dor continue to stare at me.

 

“Is that a problem?” I couldn’t keep the amusement out of my voice.

 

“He’s working with Dooku, I knew it!” Skywalker snapped.

 

“You should watch your temper, Jedi. Didn’t you hear? Anger leads to the Dark Side.” I needled Anakin. “Who is this Dooku?”

 

“Count Dooku. The leader of the Confederacy. Your boss.” The little Togruta narrowed her eyes at me as she spoke. “Stop playing dumb!”

 

“I can honestly say I don’t know any Count named Dooku.” It was even true! I knew of him thanks to the movies I’ve watched so long ago, but I didn’t know him. It wasn’t like we’ve been introduced, nor have I seen the man for real.

“I think he’s telling the truth.” Plo Koon frowned.

 

 

“He has a name. Please use it, Jedi. It’s a common courtesy.” I shot back.

 

“Delkatar Veil.” The Kel Dor actually said my name. “Who are you really? I don’t buy the mercenary story.” He paused. “What are you?!” The Jedi asked.

 

“Someone who is a long time from home.” I spoke truthfully.

 

“Isn’t that supposed to be a long way?” The Togruta frowned, making her look cute.

 

“I’m pretty sure it’s time in my case.” I shook my head.

 

“Answer my question.” Plo Koon insisted

 

“I told you the truth. Granted, not all of it. Will we stay here the whole day, exchanging pleasantries or shall we leave before whoever blew up that fleet,” I pointed at the cruiser remains outside, ”decides to come back? Don't forget that there are few more pods with survivors out there.”

 

The Jedi looked at each other for few moments and reached a decision. Apparently I was not the clear and present danger that needed dealing with, at least for the moment.

 

“It's a giant Ion cannon, mounted on a super cruiser,” declared the Kel Dor.

 

“So that's what took out your fleet,” I wondered if Grievous was on board. That sounded like a proper super weapon and that was something the cyborg would love.

 

I thought so anyway.

 

A rapid fire series of beeps and whines came from the cockpit. If I interpreted the droid's speech correctly, a craft was approaching us.

 

“Just like the giant ship that is coming towards us?” I asked, seemingly without a care in the world. Despite the mountain of weapons and armor that was approaching I was calm. We should have enough time to escape in FTL.

 

The Jedi rushed to the cockpit and I followed them calmly. The Clones tried to stop me, but I waved a hand and told them to stand down and they obeyed.

 

It was surprising that at least one of them Jedi didn’t remain to keep an eye of me, not that I had something against it.

 

Under the orders of Koon, Anakin and Ahsoka shut down the power of the ship and even R2 D2 but the cruiser continued racing towards our position.

 

I looked at the back of the transport. I could sense an active power source there.

“Do you have a medical droid or another astromech stashed in the back?” I wondered aloud and made the Jedi whirl around to face me.

 

The look of Skywalker face was priceless.

 

“We forgot the medical droid!” Ahsoka exclaimed and started restoring power to the vessel.

 

I shook my head. And those were the people on whom the galaxy counted on? All right, thanks to my Sith side I am quite biased, but today's performance was not great. On the other hand I knew a lot of Sith who were much bigger idiots but I digress.

 

 

Besides, the Jedi I was familiar with, had been under decades of brutal natural selection that left only the best alive. If I wasn’t very much mistaken, this was the first major conflict today’s Jedi were facing in centuries, perhaps a thousand years.

 

 

I used the comm unit built in my armor to sent an order to my interceptor. Its autopilot took it on a suicide attack run against the dreadnought approaching us. My fighter wouldn't last long but all it needed to do was buy us few moments.

 

Interceptor attacked the behemoth, shooting laser bolts and torpedoes like there was no tomorrow. It was using a pre-programmed evasive pattern which allowed it to survive for fifteen seconds against the awe-inspiring amount of flack that the cruiser was throwing its way.

 

The kamikaze run gave us just enough time to bring back power and head through the debris field. That combined with the small size of the transport should provide us with enough cover for the nav computer to complete its calculations so we could jump in hyperspace.

 

Behind us the behemoth tried to shoot us down with its turbolasers, before giving up. Then it unloaded a truly massive pulse of Ion energy from its main cannon.

 

A large circle of condensed ionic fury raced after us, but it was too late. We entered hyperspace mere moments before the attack could hit us.

 

**=RK=**

**Republic Fleet under the command of General Skywalker**

**Location Classified**

 

It was no wonder that Palpatine was able to fool the whole Jedi council. After spending few hours in a small ship with three of the most powerful Jedi of this generation, they knew nothing about me beside that I felt “Dark”. Perhaps I should have been grateful that they had not figured what I was yet.

 

After arriving at Skywalker's fleet and landing on his command carrier/cruiser hybrid, the Jedi went to report to the Council and ordered me to follow. Apparently they wanted a second opinion on what I was and what were they supposed to do with me.

 

I wondered if I'll have to fight my way out of here and steal a fighter to get away, so I did my best to memorize the way back to the hangars. Hopefully, I would be able to talk my way out of this mess, because fighting Skywalker, Koon and  the Togruta, not to mention the ship’s crew, well that wasn’t a pleasant prospect. Even if I managed to get away, I would have to show too much of my power – something that would inevitably make me a target for everyone – Jedi, Republic, Sith and the Confederacy.

 

That wouldn’t be a good place to be considering I lacked both resources and allies.

 

Even worse, while the Dark Side felt much stronger at this time, the Force itself… it was somehow lesser. That’s the best way to put it. I sensed that I would need to channel more power to get the same results as I would have achieved with much smaller effort before ending up in the future. That didn’t bode well for what I could pull off if relying solely upon the Force.

 

Not good at all.

 

We reached the communications center, which was built around a big holo-projector. After few minutes of silence, Mace Windu and Yoda appeared as bluish, transparent holograms – it was no mistaking those two and they were both identical to what I was expecting. At least as far as their outward appearance go. The Vaapad master looked at us for a moment then frowned at me and Skywalker.

 

It was good to know that my presence is appreciated.

 

“Master Koon, it's good to see you unharmed. And who is this?” The tall man asked. He could have been a clone of Samuel Jackson. The black Jedi Master even sounded like the actor.

 

“Master Windu, Master Yoda,” The Kel Dor gave a small bow to his fellow Council members.

 

“This is Delkatar Veil. He says that he is a mercenary.” Plo introduced me and gave them a brief description of my actions so far. “He feels Dark through the Force and was somehow able to conceal it until we stood face to face.” The  Jedi finished.

 

 

“Perhaps...” Yoda had a thoughtful expression on his face. His ears were twitching but I had no idea what, if anything, that action meant for his species. There were just a few of his kind I’ve met and we didn’t have too long to talk.

 

“Simple mercenary, you are not!” declared the ancient Jedi Master. “Yet, from you, a threat I feel not! Yet, dangerous you are.”

 

“What do you sense, master Yoda?” I nearly sneered. Being in the presence of the Jedi's Grandmaster… It stroke some painful memories that better be left forgotten for now, because the alternative as a bloodbath.

 

The little alien wizard gave me a piercing stare which I returned. It was not hard, with my head hidden under a helmet.

 

“A Sith, yet not, you are.” Yoda dropped a bombshell.

 

Perceptive little bugger, isn’t he? I gathered the Force around me as a shield and prepared to explode into action as my hand fell over the hilt of my hidden lightsaber.

 

“WHAT?!” Windu exclaimed.

 

Two blue lightsabers hissed to life as Anakin and Plo Koon drew their weapons and pointed them at me.

 

You got to love the Jedi. Apparently Yoda could sense what I am across half the galaxy, yet Sidious is invisible under his nose. Figures. Bloody boy scouts.

 

I gave a bow to Yoda and Windu.

 

“Delkatar Veil, also known as Darth Vael, formerly from the Sith Empire, at your service, master Jedi.” I gave Yoda a small bow.

 

Ahsoka gasped when she heard my new introduction and had her weapon in hand, however she didn’t activate it.

 

That didn’t stop her from frowning at me something fierce.

 

“Malice, from you I sense not.” Yoda joined the frowning competition.

 

So far Ahsoka was winning hands down. Plus, she looked cute – like a fluffy kitten. Yoda lost points for inpersonnating a particularly grumpy goblin.

 

I rolled my eyes and wondered if the first war between Jedi and Sith started because we no longer could stomach their maddening mysticism and word games.

 

“He is Sith! He admitted it!” exclaimed Mace, disbelief clear in his voice.

 

 

Yoda was looking at me with a strange expression on his face, while the other Jedi appeared to be determined yet confused.

 

A self-styled Sith was in the same compartment with them and all we did so far was talking. I have not threatened them a single time yet. Definitely nothing like the usual Sith they were taught to expect I guess.

 

I smiled. Keeping Jedi off guard by not meeting their expectation was a lot of fun. Almost as good as trolling them on general principle.

 

As we stared at each other, the Force was reacting.

 

We all could feel a shift within it. It was like the whole galaxy was holding its breath and waiting for something to happen. Time stood still before one moment and the next as Yoda was considering his options.

 

The Grandmaster reached a decision and opened his mouth to speak.

 

In that moment, the balance shattered and we could sense a profound disturbance in the Force.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 3**

**Republic Fleet under the command of General Skywalker**

**Location Classified**

 

“Hmm.” rumbled the tiny Jedi Master. “Hard to see, the future is.”

 

He stared at me with his huge eyes as if it was my fault. I grimaced. Jedi! Everything had to be blamed on the obvious Dark Side wielder! Bloody wankers!

 

“Fear in your heart I sense. Something that you seek, there is?” Yoda asked.

 

My mind wandered to the one thing that kept me sane during the war. My eyes darted from the Jedi Master to Skywalker and I felt one of the few things that are taboo for the Sith. Pity. The fools, warding themselves from any feeling. Living with no one to act as an anchor to keep them sane. It was easy to lose oneself to the darkness that way, especially when most if not all of them did their best to keep the ones they might fall in love away.

 

All but Skywalker, though he managed to somehow kriff it all up.

 

I smiled. A woman's laughter was ringing in my ears. I almost saw a brilliant smile on a face framed by blinding yet comforting light as I remembered one of the two women that ultimately kept me sane as a Sith.

 

I owed it to both of them not to let the Dark Side control me. It was the one promise I intended to keep.

 

Remembering Ashara and Vette – it hurt. The Dark Side whispered promises to soothe my pain if I surrendered, but I  simply disregarded it. I almost fell after Ashara was murdered, yet I found my way back in control. I wasn’t releasing it any time soon.

 

My attention snapped back to the present as I felt the Jedi getting restless.

 

“Unless you’ve learned how to bring back the death once they’ve become one with the Force, what I seek isn’t going to happen.”

 

“Mmm.” rumbled Yoda and looked down. His ears slumped. “A tapestry of possibilities paints the Force. Around you it gathers. Both Light and Dark.”

 

He looked me in the eyes. My helmet was no obstacle to his piercing gaze.

 

 

“The Chosen one, you are not. Yet the future, shrouds you like a cloak.”

 

'Past, present and future you've seen, have you not?' His voice sounded in my mind.

 

He fucking knew! Somehow he knew, damn it, I was a soldier! There was a reason that I avoided Dromund Kaas like the plague when I could! I hated all the intrigues and political games that dealing with the highest echelons of Sith and Jedi leadership guaranteed, even if I had to become quite good in order to survive as long as I did.

 

When all is said and done what was happening right now was such a game from the highest order.

 

I reinforced my mind shields and chose my next words very carefully.

 

“I've seen possible futures. I’ve had visions of this war you’re busy fighting. It does not bode well for the Jedi. I believe you suspected it when the first battle of the war was joined.” I paused, wondering how to go on. “It didn’t really make sense at the time. What I saw… the galaxy was different. There was nothing of the Empire I knew. Just a Republic tearing itself apart, Jedi stumbling in the dark and a few Darksiders shrouded by shadows.”

 

I waved my left arm around, while being careful not to cut it on one of the two lightsabers pointed at me. My right hand never left the hidden hilt of my blade.

 

“I can confirm it. It is hard to trap a Jedi or Sith. Yet, here we are – in the middle of the greatest trap for Jedi that this galaxy has ever known. But you suspect that, don’t you, Master Yoda?“ I asked the tiny Jedi.

 

 

“What are you talking about?!” Anakin snapped at me in confusion and anger.

 

 

“The Clone Wars the trap are.” Yoda clarified.

 

“The Republic or these Separatists. It does not matter who wins. It is irrelevant. In either case the Jedi lose. That is the point of the war.” I added.

 

“Yes,” Yoda nodded.

 

So he knew it from the beginning. If I was a betting man I would have said that he saw himself without good options. If the Jedi declined to take part in the war, when one of their own was the face of the Separatists, the Order would have lost what credibility it still had. Not to mention that some Jedi would have disregarded the orders to remain neutral, just as Revan and his followers did centuries before my own time.

 

 

Or they fought and died divided upon countless battlefields in a futile search for a way out of the trap. After all, the best ay to deal with some snares is to spring them.

 

Still, it was a very dangerous game Yoda played. The war created great opportunities to tarnish the Jedi’s image in the media. Win-win situation for Sidious. He had a good plan – one that worked.

 

“You can't fulfill your purpose as guardians of the Republic without being a part of the war. Yet the moment you joined, the Jedi as a whole lost.” I stated the obvious.

 

The only saving grace for the Order was the nature of the conventional enemy – the bulk of the CIS forces were made of droids. That lessened the chance of the Jedi being warped as they fought and cut down countless, living, feeling beings. It bought them time before more and more of their number would be tempted by the Dark Side even without the Sith actively trying to turn them.

 

 

Windu gave me a dark glare but said nothing. He, as well as all of us sensed that this was the Grandmaster's of the Jedi order, show. Besides for a brief instant the swirling vortex of the Force pushed aside the shadow blocking the Jedi's vision. They knew that I was right. That revelation would have some interesting consequences down the line.

 

 

The ball was in Yoda's court. I decided to poor more fuel to the fire.

 

 

“You are the one who mentioned the prophecy of the Chosen One. We Sith, know of it as well. Do you not wonder what ‘brings back balance to the Force’ means?” I smiled maliciously.

 

 

Prophecies. Bah. They were a tool for the Force to guide the  weak willed. We Sith forged our own future even when the Force itself had other ideas.

 

“Skywalker is supposed to destroy the Sith! He should start with you!”  Windu glared at me.

 

 

“Is he now? How many Sith are there in the galaxy today? This Dooku you’ve mentioned? His Master, or is he a Master and not an apprentice? How many Sith does the Confederacy employ? How many Jedi are there in the galaxy today? Please, answer me, Master Jedi and then think about whose side might need pruning so there would be ‘balance’ in the Force.”

 

 

If their gob smacked expressions were anything to go by, none of them ever looked at the prophecy in that light. From a certain point of view, Anakin brought balance back to the force when he helped destroy the Jedi order. Twenty odd years later he fulfilled the last part of the prophecy by offing Sidious and at least for a time getting rid of the Sith. With Luke being a barely trained novice, Anakin wiped the slate clean.

 

 

In the end, there were thousands of Sith holocrons spread around the galaxy, just waiting for someone willing to learn.

 

 In time new Sith would emerge again even if the last of us died.

 

Talking about Sith, I tried to remember what I knew about Sidious and his little group. If I wasn’t mixing thing up, they weren’t true Sith – just a sect of Dark Jedi with delusions of grandeur trying to emulate the real thing.

 

 

Just a single Master and apprentice? That was simply begging for knowledge to be lost every time the Master died before he could teach their student everything they knew. What were the odds that an apprentice would wait until their Master had taught them all they know before the final confrontation? Every single such cycle had the potential to lose knowledge. Further, just a pair of Sith – there was a limit on new research on the nature of the Force and how to manipulate it two people could carry on and thus weakening the Sith further.

I chased those thoughts out of my mind and looked at Skywalker.

 

Anakin was looking positively ill. Wouldn't you know it? He was starting to think for himself, and probably didn’t like my interpretation of the prophecy. Roughly speaking there were three ways to ensure there was a “balance”, depending on your preconceptions about the Force. Or how much you've been indoctrinated by the Jedi or Sith, but that was another story.

 

 

 Wipe out either sect, or both and start with a clean sheet. The latter was what was supposed to happen in the next few decades. How many trained Jedi and Sith were there at the end of the sixth film?

 

 

Well, that is if you believed in fate. I am pretty sure that my presence here was not ordained by the Force or something like that. Nope. Couple of ROB's made a deal and the future of a galaxy was going to change.

 

Unless I got myself killed again that’s it.

 

 

I could feel the Force swirling around me and Yoda. It was stiff. Like a snake coiled for a strike. The Jedi Master was about to make an important decision.

 

 

“Hard it is. Against all I was taught by my own Master it is. Done nothing against the Jedi of this age you have. Enemy you are not. Perhaps too much in the prophecy we have believed. “

 

 

“I’m not your enemy, Master Yoda. Unless you turn me into one.” I told him the truth. For the time being I was content with live and let live arrangement.

 

 

I smiled broadly. The knot of energy centered around us started dissipating and it sent a shock-wave through the Force. What would have been was no more set up in stone.

 

 

The future was there, waiting to be shaped by the present.

 

 

Now, there were two shadows looming within the Force –  Sidious and me. A new game was afoot.

 

 

“This is a mistake we may not live to regret!” Mace Windu snapped. He cut off his connection and his hologram winked out.

 

 

“I feel that I'll have a lot of headaches with that fella.” I muttered. I didn’t need the Force to figure it out either.

 

 

Ahsoka snorted in amusement.

 

 

“That's not a nice thing to say about Master Windu.” said the little Togruta but she could not hide the edge of mirth in her tone.

 

 

“A Jedi with a sense of humor! You are not hopeless after all!” I exclaimed. Tano was a little gem that needed polishing.

 

 

“Snips, behave!” Skywalker admonished his Padawan but I sensed that he agreed with her.

 

Ah! Now I remembered. Windu was not one of Anakin's fans either.

 

 

Master Koon shut down his weapon and placed its hilt on his belt. He turned his head towards me.

 

 

“What do you intend to do now?”

 

 

“Well, while I am stuck here I may give you hand with that oversized cruiser. It’s your next target, isn’t it? Besides, I do not believe that your Grandmaster would let me on my way without supervision. Who knows? I may go and corrupt someone with my insidious ways?” I quipped.

 

 

 

“Indeed.” Yoda made his opinion clear. “For the best it will be, if a Jedi go with you. From a different age, you are. The Galaxy changed is from the time you knew. Hmm... I wonder... A cruiser to hunt you have. Speak of this later, we will.” Yoda turned his attention at Anakin.

 

 

“Knight Skywalker. Problem, understanding orders, you have...”

 

 

It was amusing to listen how Yoda berated the “Chosen one” for disobeying orders and saving us.

 

 

“You are correct, Master Jedi. It is a strange new world. The last time I checked, leaving survivors of your fleet to fend for themselves and concentrating on the objective, well, it was a practical thing to do. An action worthy of any self-respecting Sith.”

 

 

Yoda's ears slumped.

 

 

“This war. Clouds ones judgment, it does.” Muttered the small Jedi. “Meditate I will on a lot of things. May the Force be with you.”

 

 

With that he cut the connection.

 

 

Anakin looked at me with a confused expression. A Sith lecturing a bunch of Jedi about morality. It sent their minds for a spin. It was hilarious.

 

“It was something that Dooku would do, wasn't it?” asked Anakin with a hollow voice.

 

 

“It was the practical thing to do.” I interjected. Expediency was a slippery slope that was often fatal for the Jedi. It was one thing for someone not a Force Sensitive to make such a decision. For a Jedi however... “And to answer your question, if Dooku really is a Sith, that’s something he would  cheerfully do.”

 

 

Skywalker deactivated his lightsaber and rubbed his face with his left hand. He was starting to see the Jedi in a different light, I think. It was a small step to make, but significant one. I wondered where would it take him.

 

 

The discussion was effectively ended by the rumble of my stomach.

 

With the time jumping that sent me here I had no idea how long it was since I ate for the last time. I was sure it was nearly a day by now.

 

 

“I'll show you to the mess hall.” said Anakin. “Snips, are you coming?”

 

**=RK=**

**Chancellor's office**

**Senate Building**

**Coruscant**

 

Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic sat slumped in his comfortable chair. He was dealing with the bane of every ruler – mountains of paperwork. He had plans to deal with a lot of that nonsense once he was Emperor but for now, it was an inevitable evil.

 

The former senator from Naboo was reading a pad filled with various laws which would be proposed on the next senate session. He or his sympathizers had made few of those. The rest, he had to check them to see if there was something that could be turned to his use or if there was something that would be a problem for one of his plans. It was boring but necessary work. It would not do for one of his enemies to sneak in something troublesome without his knowledge. After all, even for someone like him it was impossible to know everything. It was a big galaxy.

 

He was reading about a law that should have resolved the disputes between few minor worlds on the edge of Republic space. So far he had no plans for those planets. They were tiny fishes in a very big ocean. Palpatine snarled. This was waste of his precious time!

 

The boredom of the Sith Lord was abruptly ended by a tremor in the Force. It's deliciously, dark currents were disrupted by something unseen. There was a ... change in the air. He frowned, concentrated and sent his mind searching for the cause of the disturbance. The Dark side was stronger than ever and was throwing huge shadows which would blind any Jedi trying to divine what was happening. It was one of the many advantage Sidious had.

 

He was not a man easily surprised. However that day he was. And it was not pleasant. For the first time in his memory, the shroud of the Dark side obscured his vision too. The Force was in turmoil and he sensed that it was waiting for something to happen. For minutes he searched for the reason of this confusion. It was futile. Which infuriated Sidious. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith! What was happening should have been beyond the skills of any Jedi. For a moment he thought that Dooku was up to something but disregarded that idea. That did not felt like his apprentice.

 

A senate functionary entered the Chancellor's office without announcing himself. It was a shifty looking male Rodian who was out of luck. The man saw the livid Palpatine, whose eyes were blazing with sick yellow light. With a wave of his hand, Sidious vented some of his frustration on the unfortunate being. The Rodian was gripped by invisible hand which started squeezing. He tried to scream as his bones snapped and his flesh was rent apart.

 

The Sith Lord discarded the body to a dark corner of his office. He was now a bit calmer and was almost thankful to the unfortunate creature. This was not the place to lose ones temper. He should have controlled himself better, yet the sudden potency of the Dark Side had left him drunk with power for some time.

 

The Force shifted. It was still shrouded by darkness but there was a significant difference. It was a dance of Dark and Light currents. It was the birth of a new future.

 

Sidious was no longer the absolute master of the Dark side and if it was not for his arrogance and pride he would have seen the signs. What he knew was that now his sight within the Force was as bad as the one those foolish Jedi had. There was a new shadow which was obscuring even his vision! He vowed vengeance on whoever was casting it! That person would feel his boundless wrath! The Dark Lord of the Sith was not someone to be crossed! The Dark side was his to command!

 

**=RK=**

**Part 4**

**General Skywalker's command ship Resolute**

**Location: Classified;**

 

The meals in the Mess hall were... adequate. I've had worse tasting things served on warships before. It actually beat all equivalents of MREs I've tried to eat so far. I was eating something that tasted like a chicken with some kind of bitter sauce. Strange combination but not bad.

 

Skywalker and Tano were keeping me company on the corner table I had chosen. I had my back safely towards a wall with no way for someone to sneak up to me from behind.

 

What can I say? Healthy paranoia.

 

Skywalker was munching on a meal identical to my own and let me tell you, that boy do have a healthy appetite. Next to him Ahsoka was nibbling on a salad, an odd choice for someone of her species. The Togrutas were predators after all. I should know – I was married to one.

 

Her attention was firmly on me. I could see curiosity sparkling in her huge eyes.

 

All around us groups of clones and few normal crew members were helping themselves to whatever the cooks had ready. I believe it was the lunch cycle for the ship.

 

Few minutes ago, when we reached the table with our food and I took off my helmet, I saw surprise on the face of my companions. I don’t think that they were expecting an ordinary looking human in his mid thirties.

 

 

I think I looked underwhelming for a Sith. My lips twitched into a small smile at that thought. Ahsoka was looking like a slip of a girl, too small to be any real danger yet she was anything but harmless. Judging a force user by his outwards appearance was a fool's bargain.

 

Take Yoda for example…

 

I swallowed another bite of the fried meat and looked at the Padawan.

 

 

“Ask your questions before you start bouncing around in excitement.” I glanced at the Clones, some of whom were giving me interested glances. If the rumor mill was all right and working they knew that I had saved a few of their brethren and perhaps that I was a Sith too. The later was information that I preferred to be closely guarded for the time being but knew that the cat would be out of the bag sooner rather than later. I would not be surprised if in few days Palpatine watches a copy of the conversation between me and the council members.

 

 

Of course, it was one thing someone learning what I was. Actually believing it was something quite different. I should be keeping reasonably low profile at leas as far as my skills with the Force were concerned for as long as I could.

 

 

On the other hand, it doing so it wasn’t exactly vital. I was a Sith Warrior. Stealth was not one of our strong points even if  I had some decent training in it. I hoped that little fact won't bite me on the ass one of these days.

 

 

“Explanation is in order I think. How did you end in that system anyway?” asked Skywalker.

 

 

“And what does Master Yoda mean when he told us that you are from a different age?”

 

 

What was the best way to lie to Jedi? Tell as much of the truth as possible while omitting the most important things?

 

 

“I was in a battle above Korriban, the ancient Sith homeworld. It was not a notable clash between Imperial and Republic forces – just one among dozens of space skirmishes that were raging across the galaxy as the Republic Navy tried to execute a pre-emptive strike as we were preparing our final offensive against the Republic.” I paused. “It’s the Old Republic now, I guess. A certain imbecile who was masquerading as the Sith Lord in command of the fleet protecting Korriban I panicked when the enemy received reinforcements. He employed an experimental super weapon which was mounted on his command dreadnought. The next thing I know I awoke in my interceptor in the system you found me, feeling as I’ve fallen out of time so to speak. At least that’s what the Force tried to tell me. The rest you know.” I finished my tale.

 

“We are not fighting an Empire! Just the Separatists!” Ahsoka pouted, looking too cute for her own good. Way too cute.

 

Down boy, stay away from the Jedi jailbait!

 

I shook my head. It’s been some time since I got laid. There were those Twi’lek twins about a year and half after my wife died and that was it. That was too long ago I think. I’ve been too absorbed in the war and tracking down the people responsible for Ashara’s murder to think about sex.

 

That was the last thing I needed – lusting after Skywalker's Padawan. I ordered my eyes not to pass lower than the neckline of the scantily clad Togruta female and concentrated on the conversation and my lunch. Safer that way.

 

“Hmm. It was a thousand years since the last war with the Sith.” Anakin mussed. “They were supposedly wiped out then, but Dooku and company proved that belief wrong.”

 

 

“So I am from at least that long ago. Splendid.” I sighed. I was pretty sure I was from three to four thousand years ago.

 

I frowned at the Jedi Knight and started fishing for information.

 

“During that war, did the Sith raid Coruscant and lay waste to the Jedi temple?”

 

“You must be joking! The last time something like that happened was almost four thousand years ago!” Now Ahsoka was looking at me like a favorite science project.

 

 

Yep. Nailed it.

 

 

“Lucky me.” I grumbled. I could picture it already. Historians from all over the galaxy flocking to my side and begging for interviews. I wondered if I could get away with making a few graphic and bloody examples of such pests. Perhaps I should keep that for the paparazi. At worst, I should just take precautions and not get caught.

 

 

I looked at the exited Padawan. Ahsoka was once again ready to explode and start bouncing all over the mess hall.

 

 

“No. I am not a historical guide!” I snapped at the kid.

 

 

Tano pouted adorably and started chewing her lower lip. I smirked.

 

 

“That's not working either.”

 

 

“Ahsoka!” I detected a hint of whining in Anakin's voice. The girl was a handful to deal with – I knew her for just a few hours and it was quite obvious. It sucked to be Skywalker.

 

 

I went back to my lunch while master and padawan were having a staring match.

 

 

Skywalker eventually won and his attention returned to me.

 

 

“You said that you were thrown into the system by a super weapon. From the past no less. Yet you apparently know more about our general situation more than we do!” Anakin gave me a pointed look.

 

 

“I’ve had various visions of your future for some time before the incident.” I shrugged. “While they didn’t make much sense given the state of the galaxy, I could make some conclusions. When I ended up back in that system and felt that I might be displaced, I had a few hours to think about my situation and what exactly the visions meant.” If you consider me being born and living in another universe for decades before I became a ROB’s handyman visions, I even told Anakin the truth.

 

It wasn’t like I could be sure which if any set of memories I possessed were false. They all felt real when I was meditating. At least as far as the Force was concerned and that was all I had to go on by. In the end I had made a peace with my past.

 

 

I was here for the long haul and thinking too hard about ROB shenanigans was only going to give me a headache for no real benefit.

 

 

Besides, watching movies and cartoons a long, long time ago could be described as visions, right? What really mattered was that I knew the most important piece of information – who Sidious was. Of course, actually dealing with the man was all but simple.

 

I had no proof that the Chancellor was up to no good and I would be insane to point at him and declare him a Sith. Even if the Jedi went after him and won, that would create a precedent that could kriff me over. The last thing I wanted was for the Jedi to go after a Sith Lord – like me – without a proof of wrongdoing and get away with it. If the price for waiting was the galaxy suffering through the Clone Wars so be it.

 

What? I’m a Sith. There’s a Sith picture next to the definition of selfish bastard in any self respecting dictionary.

 

Besides, if Sidious wasn’t complete idiot, he would have contingencies in place in case he was found out. Contingencies which would be aimed in creating as much chaos across the galaxy as possible and prolonging the war.   He would do it out of spite and for the advantage such madness would give him as a hunted man.

 

 

I would do the same in his shoes as well as most reasonably competent Sith Lords I knew.

 

 

Skywalker slumped over the table while he digested my answer.

 

 

“This has to be a secret Sith trick!” he moaned. “I can't tell if you are lying through your teeth or not!”

 

 

“The Force works in mysterious ways.” I deadpanned. Messing with Jedi was just as fun as I remembered being before Ashara died.

 

 

“What did I do to deserve this?” Anakin bemoaned his predicament.

 

**=RK=**

 

Skywalker ended up stashing me in a spare quarters not too far from his own – to keep an eye on the Sith was stuck with or something like that.

 

My temporally home consisted of a small compartment, in which there was barely enough place for the single bed and the attached fresher. I got issued few essential necessities from the clone's supplies and went to take a shower. Once I felt reasonably refreshed I fell all over the contents of a pad which was provided to me by Skywalker. It contained the manual and relevant specks for a V-19 Torrent Starfighter. It looked like a nice enough machine but it was over-engineered in my opinion.

 

It was armed with pair of laser cannons and two concussion missile launchers. The good news was that it had a class 1 hyperdrive and consumables for a week. If the Jedi changed their minds one of these toys should be able to get me to a civilized planet.

 

I fell asleep reading the manual.

 

**=RK=**

 

Obviously Mr. Murphy or one of his irritating relatives, was well and kicking in the future too. He decided that with me being a Sith and experienced pilot, there was no need to give me time in the simulators for the Torrent. That would be just too easy! There was about a half hour before I was informed of the fun to come.

 

I was awoken by a cheerful and full of energy Ahsoka. We had a briefing to attend to it seemed. I grabbed my weapons and helmet (I slept in my armor) and followed the young Togruta. She led me to one of the hangars where Admiral Yularen, the nominal commander of the fleet, and Skywalker were preparing a briefing.

 

 

Master Koon joined us on the way there and enjoyed watching me fend off Ahsoka’s ceaseless questions about the past.

 

I was wrong about Tano. She wasn’t cute, but a major pain in the ass instead.

 

 

At least we reached our destination soon and the briefing began.

 

 

With capital ships being easy prey for Malevolence's (that's the dreadnought we were after) Ion cannon, High Command – I wondered if that meant Palpatine himself or just the staff officers back on Coruscant – had decided to authorize a bomber attack against the ship.

 

 

I wondered what exactly Palpy planned too. Either Grievous was too successful and needed his wings clipped or the Sith Lord hoped that the attack would fail and after the fuck up he would achieve some political gain or another. Those were the most likely scenarios, even if it could be something else altogether.

 

I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a proper war but instead a theater in which Sidious played both sides. In my personal opinion, the whole set up was simply asking for something to go wrong and so the war could take a life of its own. Something like me.

 

After all, I simply couldn’t compete with Palpy on the political arena. He was an established actor with decades to make contacts, alliances and find out where all the bodies were buried so he could blackmail people.

 

On the other hand, I was a newcomer with no resources and allies. All I had going for me were my own skills, experience and what I remembered about this era even if my information might not be entirely correct. I had to make myself know to the Republic at large and the Jedi in particular as an ally, perhaps get myself a commission in the army.

 

Then I had to ensure that the carefully orchestrated farce that were the Clone Wars went to hell and became a real war. Doing so would greatly level the field between myself and Palpatine. When all is said and done, I’ve already fought in one galaxy spanning war and did quite well for myself.

 

 

This operation I stumbled in was going to be quite useful for myself. Helping stop Grievous given his next target was going to enhance my reputation with the Clones. I’ve already won myself a bit of kudos after saving a few of them, but helping take out the Malevolence? That was going to be very good for me – after all, Grievous was targeting the primary medical station treating wounded Clones from all over the sector.

 

 

Soon enough,  the briefing was over and the clones headed to their ships we went to meet Anakin.

 

 

“It's an aggressive plan.” Plo Koon looked at Skywalker. Going on by his tone, the Jedi Master disapproved.

 

 

As if that was a bad thing in a war. Usually defense didn’t win it for you. Oh, wait. They were Jedi. Aggression was a baaad thing. How foolish of me… At least “my” Jedi had learned their lesson the hard way and by the time of the Cold War when I began my training, most of them were credible threat to us Sith.

 

Not that we admitted it aloud. Appearances matter a lot after all.

 

 

“Are you sure that the squadron would be able to handle the mission?” continued the Jedi Master.

 

 

Skywalker grinned and asked the pilots who were more than sure.

 

The members of Shadow squadron had the right attitude at least. I liked them already, plus they had a fitting name.

 

While Anakin was trying to reassure Master Koon of the impending success of the raid, the Admiral, who was staying few meters away from the Jedi was grimacing. I raised an eyebrow at that. He was the professional military man and experienced to booth. One thing I learned early as a Sith was not to scoff at the opinion of flag officers who were not Force Sensitive. Some of them knew much more than me about the matter at hand even now after I had decades of experience.

 

“Admiral Yularen, what do you think about this plan?” I asked the man.

 

 

The Flag-officer was surprised by my question. I gather that the Jedi didn’t seek his opinion often. Or perhaps it was the fact that I might be confused for a bounty hunter who somehow had found his way on his ship. My armor gave off that vibe too, at least for those who didn’t know better. The confusion was handy at times.

 

The Admiral's frown deepened.

 

“No disrespect meant to General Skywalker, but his plan has too high a chance of failure. Even if only a couple of the bombers are shot down short of the target, the rest of the squadron may not have the firepower necessary for taking out the bridge.”

 

Anakin scowled at that criticism while Plo Koon nodded sagely.

 

 

“That's why I'll join the mission.” said the Jedi Master.

 

 

“Admiral, are other bomber squadrons available or even few fighter wings as escorts?” I asked.

 

 

The Admiral was deep in thought for a minute.

 

 

“I may be able to spare a fighter squadron for escort, however, Shadow squadron has all of our operational bombers. During our last engagement the bomber wings suffered heavy losses. “

 

 

“That will have to do.” I nodded.

 

 

“I'll give the necessary orders. May I inquire who you are, Master Jedi?” asked Yularen.

 

 

“I am Delkatar Veil and I am no Jedi, Admiral. I am a freelance Sith willing to help you deal with this whole Separatists mess.” I smiled.

 

 

He looked at me in confusion. “A Sith? Aren’t you supposed to be extinct, not to mention enemies of the Jedi?”

 

“Ancient history combined with Jedi propaganda. I don’t have a problem with the Jedi as long as they live me at peace. The so called Sith fighting for the Confederacy on the other hand – they might have a problem with me. Besides, from what I understand, this Dooku character is former Jedi is he not? That should be a proof enough that not all Jedi are paragons of virtue and I’m aiming to prove that not all Sith are murderous maniacs.”

 

 

The Jedi were glaring at me for my insinuations. They probably weren’t too pleased with me for reminding the Admiral that the other side was led by a former Order member either.

 

Yularen, while not trusting me yet, was a crafty military leader and he smelled an opportunity for acquiring allies. Or at least keeping a few of his boys alive through the next mission.

 

“I understand you’ll be taking a part of the operation.” Yularen stated.

 

“I’ll do my best even if I’m not experienced with your equipment. As a Sith I have the Force serving me and that would make all the difference in the end.” I parroted the standard Sith party line.

 

It even worked as far as the Admiral was concerned. He had probably seen Jedi pull enough stunts with the Force not to question my words.

 

I snapped a crisp Sith salute which was returned by the Admiral with the current Republic equivalent that was quite different from what I remember. Then he gave a small nod of approval. I had the feeling that the Jedi weren’t giving him or the other officers in the GAR the proper military courtesy their rank deserved.  That notion was reinforced by the Jedi  expressions which told me I might have received more respect from Yularen than any of them had gotten so far. The Admiral executed a precise formal bow aimed at the Jedi and left followed by Anakin.

 

 

“Skywalker inspires a great confidence in his men but I am glad for the additional escorts.” said Plo Koon.

 

“We are just following his example.” Ahsoka gave us a small smile as she supported her Master.

 

“High moral, by itself, is not enough on a modern battlefield. I hope that the addition of a fighter escort will be enough. Now where is my machine?”

 

I was led to a fighter, which was being checked by a team of engineers. It was parked near a roll of yellow, BTL-B Y-starfighters, more commonly known as Y-Bombers.

 

**=RK=**

 

I was chatting with the mechanics going over my fighter and asking about getting some simulator time when the Admiral hurried to Skywalker's side. The Jedi and his Padawan were next to the bomber they would pilot once the Malevolence was located.

 

To the Jedi's shock it turned out that Grievous had blown up a medical convoy transporting wounded and was on his way to a secret starbase which was acting as a hospital. More importantly, that facility was the only secure place where clones from battlefields in the nearby sectors could be sent to heal. Its destruction would be a great blow for the Republic ensuring a nearly catastrophic loss of soldiers.

 

Damn it, I should have paid more attention to the briefing. While I was distracted thinking about Sidious, my memory had dragged enough details to fill up the blanks on what would be happening – details that the Republic apparently didn’t know yet and I would have hard time explaining. The last thing I needed was to be declared and enemy spy because I knew things I shouldn’t. Claiming Force induced visions couldn’t explain everything, kriff it all. I should be more careful in the future.

 

Meanwhile, Tano started ranting at Grievous. Ahsoka was obviously outraged at the cyborg's choice of targets.

 

 

Granted, targeting the hospital required a certain level of ruthlessness but when you take into account the general attitude of the public towards the clones (and how the hell did I know that?!) it might easily be seen as a legitimate target on par with droid factories and repair shops. To most civies in the Republic (and on the Separatist backing worlds) the clones were not real people. This was a war fought by expendable armies. As long as parents on the core worlds did not have to send their sons and daughters on the front-lines the support for the war would be higher than otherwise expected. I'll give Palpatine that, he had planned this show very well.

 

Soon after the news came in, we were ready to launch. Eleven bombers, a squadron of ten Torrent fighters, one Jedi starfighter and me.

 

It was not a formidable force when you consider what we were facing. A ship like the Malevolence had to have a lot of fighters even if for some reason lacking an escorting fleet.

 

To my surprise another Republic fleet came in just as we were leaving. That was Kenobi's command. Obi-Wan and Yularen's capital ships were taking the long (and much safer) route towards the medical station. My insistence for more fighters and bombers was denied by the Jedi, because Mr. Murphy was in full swing. Before arriving here, the small craft of Kenobi's fleet were mauled by enemy fighters. I just knew that there was a ROB somewhere watching the show with amusement.

 

“I hope you know what you are doing.” Obi-Wan’s voice came over the frequency reserved for Jedi use. My hosts had given it to me so we had a secure comm channel for the op.

 

“Well, if I don't, I won't be alive for you to say ‘I told you so!’” Anakin quipped.

 

“Skywalker, that has the rest of us walking to hell with you. You know that, right?” I asked.

 

 

Bloody idiot.

 

 

“That's not reassuring. So you are Delkatar Veil, our new guest?”

 

“Yep. I didn’t know that it was standard procedure for you Jedi to send your guests on suicide missions to get their blood pumping. This actually raised my opinion about you folks.” I quipped.

 

Just before we entered hyperspace, Matchstick, the Shadow squadron leader said that he'll be buying the drinks if we accomplished the mission.

 

“I'll hold you up to that.” I muttered and sent my fighter into hyperspace.

 

**=RK=**

 

The first hyperspace jump ended near a beautiful nebula. Here was the entrance to what Skywalker considered a short cut.

 

“We should be careful. The nebulas could be treacherous.” warned Master Koon.

 

The clones were busy to reassure us that they would be able to handle it. I knew a typical pilot's bravado too well not to recognize it in their voices. They were wary but refused to admit it even to themselves.

 

“Hey! The Padawan has opinion too!” exclaimed Ahsoka from the gunner's seat on Anakin's fighter.

 

A small smile played around my lips as I spoke up.

 

“Miss Tano, there is one paradigm which apparently never changes. No matter if you are a Jedi Padawan or a Sith apprentice, your master tends to disregard or outright ignore your opinion.”

 

“At least R2 is on my side!” grumbled Ahsoka.

 

Ah. Jedi! They led me to sight see the most amazing places. While beautiful to look at from outside, the yellow-orange Nebula was a stone cold bitch to navigate. The visibility was down to few meters and the scanners were useless here. The clones had to fly after the engine light of the fighter directly in front of them. I and presumably the Jedi had no such problems. I could feel the clones and my three Force wielding companions and used them as beacons as I flew.

 

“The scanner is down!” exclaimed Ahsoka.

 

“We have to pilot by instinct.” said Anakin smugly.

 

“Skywalker is right, Ahsoka. Clean you mind and you'll see the direction we are going.” instructed Koon.

 

I took the opportunity to break in with my own piece of advice.

 

“While you are at it, try and feel us all. You could see each one of us in the Force and use us as beacons. Try avoid crashing into someone else's machine.” I added.

 

“Nope. I still see nothing! Besides, I'm not the one flying! If we crash it will be all Skyguy's fault!” grumbled the Padawan.

 

I smirked.

 

“You'll learn kid.”

 

“Hey! I don't do crashes! That often...”

 

We continued our flight and I listened to the clones banter in order to help stave off the boredom.

 

**=RK=**

 

Couple of hours later I was cursing my luck. And my ingenious idea to go to the Jedi. How I could forget about what was supposed to happen in this force cursed Nebula I'll never know. I'll blame it on ROB messing with my head.

 

It all started when our nosy Padawan asked Skywalker how he knew about the short cut. You see, it was a smugglers route. He heard about it on Tatooine. No surprises there.

 

“They call it the Balmorra Run.” said Anakin proudly.

 

“The Balmorra Run?!” exclaimed Koon.

 

The almost scared tone of the Jedi Master was my first clue. Then I sensed that something big and alive was moving our way at high-speed. The stream of curses that left my mouth could make an old and grizzled smuggler blush. I sensed more of the things approaching.

 

“Scatter! Scatter! Scatter!” I shouted and hit the afterburners.

 

Few of the clones followed my example. Good men. While the others were waiting for orders and Anakin and Plo were arguing Ahsoka detected the approaching danger but was ignored.

 

Skywalker ordered evasive maneuvers and banked right just in time to avoid being eaten by a giant neebray manta. What is with Jedi in this day and age!? The Anakin's Padawan detected the beasts on their bomber's crippled scanners before either of them sensed the things in the Force!

 

We found ourselves flying through a thinner part of the Nebula. The nesting place of those creatures, where scores of them were flying in a circle. Those things were easily kilometer long or bigger! I let the Force guide my hands and I was astonished to experience firsthand what was to be one with it! It was amazing. I really could see where each part of the bodies of the animals would go before it moved. It was a bit of a surrealistic experience but far from unpleasant. In fact it was almost addicting. When did I became an adrenaline junky anyway?! My Torrent danced through this labyrinth made from living flesh and I smiled at the exhilaration I felt.

 

The ride through the shoal of neebray mantas ended too fast for my taste. Few of the bombers scrapped pieces of their machines over the huge space monsters but otherwise they were all right. Those of us flying fighters fared better. Our rides were much more agile so we could easily dodge the living behemoths.

 

“Keep the course men! They won't follow us out of the Nebula!” said Koon.

 

“We are exiting!” declared Ahsoka seconds later.

 

And here we were. On the other side. The Hospital was nearby. We were just in time.

 

**=RK=**

 

The medical station was almost in visual range when an enormous shadow appeared on our sensors. A couple of the greener Clones panicked thinking that the space mantas had followed us but soon cooler heads prevailed. That was Malevolence, our target. Which was actually a bigger concern that a group of animals, no matter how big.

 

It was time to see if the change I made in the timeline would be enough.

 

It was my turn to grimace. We were approaching the super cruiser from the side. It gave it a good angle from which to shoot at us. Beyond it I could barely make out the form of a mushroom-shaped space station. Then all hell broke loose.

 

The capital ship shot its massive Ion cannon at something near the station, followed by an avalanche of red turbo-laser bolts. Either some escorts which had made it on time or medical frigates attempting to escape. They were doomed. I could sense people dying.

 

I disregarded that feeling and concentrated my attention at the matter at hand. Grievous was idiot. He had sent a bunch of vulture droids to meet us but they were relatively few. Far from enough to put a dent in the fighter compliment of such a big ship as the Malevolence.

 

Even without the escorts, the bomber wing had good chances to break through such a small swarm. With the squadron of Torrent's present so few droids did not stand a chance of stopping us. So the Separatist General was either a fool or too arrogant which in the end was almost the same thing.

 

I had no more time for stray thoughts. The droids were in range.

 

**=RK=**

 

I and Koon led the fighter screen and we charged at the incoming droids. While, thanks to my “new” memories I knew it intellectually, the short range at which the combat was about to take place surprised me. I should have known better.

 

Have you wondered why dogfights in Star Wars are at visual range? Sure in the films it looks “Cool” and that is all. Not so here. The amount of ECM thrown from the super cruiser and droid fighters was insane. While the scanners could detect the general position where the enemy fighters were, that was not good enough at the speeds at which our machines moved. So all of us, people and droids alike, had to go and mix up close and personal.

 

The scanners managed to cut through the ECM just outside of visual range. The first shots would be ours. I highlighted two enemies for my targeting computer and pressed the firing button for the missile launcher the moment I got a target acquisition tone.

 

The rest of the Torrent equipped squadron followed my lead. Before we flew into a rain of laser fire, twenty two concussion missiles separated from our fighters, raced forward and darted towards the robots which were closing with us with suicidal tenacity.

 

Most of the missiles found their targets while few were shot down by lucky hits. Nineteen vultures died in short lived blazes of plasma and molten metal. Then their brethren were upon us. I blew up a conveniently placed droid before breaking up my headlong charge and maneuvering to avoid destruction.

 

Whatever misgivings I had about my new V-19 fighter were gone. It handled like a dream as it weaved around barrages of enemy fire. I knew where danger lied and could feel in which vectors I could safely aim my Torrent. It flew in front of its afterburner plumes as I deftly guided it in a deadly waltz.

 

Another robot fighter shattered under the hail of my laser cannons while it was trying to acquire a firing angle over one of the bombers.

 

A Clone screamed as his Torrent was immolated around him.

 

I put the agility of my Torrent to good use when two of the machines flew behind me, pissed off at the destruction of their comrades.

 

I led them on a lethal chase among the Y-Bomber formation. The assault machines were flying at the Malevolence counting on their shields for protection. It was not like they could really dogfight. Their gunners made a short work of my pursuers. I shouted “Thanks!” on the all hands channel and darted at another target. A lucky hit blew the “brain” of the droid and sent the machine spinning out of control. In few thousand years it might ruin someone's day.

 

Three vultures were flying headlong towards a pair of republic fighters. The guns of the five machines were blazing at their respective enemies. A droid fighter was destroyed. I nailed second.

 

The third received a grazing hit and lost control. It slammed at one of the clone fighters which was flying towards it with incredible speed. Both machines were engulfed by an explosion that illuminated the canopy of my cockpit. It shinned like a small star for the brief moment it existed.

 

I sensed a danger heading my way.

 

“Break out! Move to the periphery!” shouted Skywalker.

 

I hit the afterburner. I listened to the Force and raced at the direction where it whispered that safety awaited.

 

A massive circle made of purple lighting was flying our way. The bombers were moving just in front of me and I was overtaking them thanks to my superior acceleration.

 

“Shadow two! Your speed is decreasing!” shouted Tano.

 

I could see how one of the Y-Bombers slowed down its climb to safety. Its right engine was smoking.

 

“It's nothing, sir! I'm trying!” shouted its pilot.

 

Unfortunately, his damaged fighter was unable to keep up with the strain. A piece of his engine blew out and the whole unit lit up on fire. The bomber lost control and tumbled out of formation. I knew what was about to happen before it occurred. In my mind I watched how the wounded starfighter slammed in one of the following bombers and both machines crumbled as if made of paper. Not this time. I stretched my will through the Force. The out of control bomber lurched to the left, propelled by my mind. It was thrown out of the way of our squadrons.

 

I grinned foolishly when my wandering mind was slammed back into my body. My heart was thundering within my chest and I could feel blood rushing in my head. I was dazzled for few seconds before recovering. I knew, that now, when my mind recognized the phenomenon I would be able to use the Force easily without the tunnel vision I just experienced or the brief confusion that followed. I wondered whether Luke felt that way just after he shot the torpedo up the exhaust port of the Death Star.

 

“Squadron report!” Skywalker's order brought me back to the present.

 

“Matchstick is spinning out of control. Shadows Seven, Night and Ten are out of power.” the answer came from Ahsoka.

 

“Rapier Two, five and eight are gone. Three, four and nine are out of control. I and the remains of the squadron are dealing with the rest of the clankers.” reported the leader of Rapier squadron.

 

One more bomber and my machine were a viable in addition to what was left by this point in cannon. Or so I believed. That was bought with the lives of three clones. I wondered if that would make any difference against the capital ship.

 

We raced towards the leviathan.

 

“Reinforce forward shields!” ordered Skywalker.

 

“Hold this course!” that was Plo.

 

The super cruiser was becoming bigger alarmingly fast. My fighter danced around waves of turbo-laser fire and blasts of flack cannons.

 

“Skywalker! We need a new plan! The clones don't have our reflexes!” I shouted over the comm.

 

I already could see the debacle in the making. I've seen such things during the war four millennia ago. Whole wings piloted by ordinary men and women shattering upon the close in defenses of capitals ships. While fighters and bombers could swarm a cruiser and deal a lot of damage, that was when the small craft were in sufficient numbers. We weren't.

 

“We'll make it! Hold on!”

 

I had no choice but to follow. Breaking out of my course at this time would have left me on a vector which makes me an easy target.

 

We reached the ship without losing any of our numbers. The bombers headed for the hull of the cruiser. Flying near it would protect them from most of the gunfire. I and Koon followed.

 

“We are too close!” shouted a clone before his right engine was torn out from his fighter by the fire of an enemy weapon emplacement. The crippled bomber lost control and smashed into the upper hull of the cruiser. It barely dented the armor.

 

“Skywalker only those of us using the Force will make it at this rate!” I shouted to the hard-headed Jedi. I did a minuscule correction on my course and unloaded all my concussion missiles on a point just behind a row of flack cannons which were making the life of the clones harder. I was glad that the Force guided me correctly. Something gave up under the missile onslaught and the enemy fire slackened.

 

“Master, he is right! You'll make it but the rest of the squadron will be shot down!” Ahsoka supported me.

 

“SKYWALKER!” I shouted.

 

“Shadow squadron! New target! Head for the Ion cannon!”

 

“Finally!” I muttered.

 

The bomber squadron banked to the right side of the cruiser. We flew towards the charging super weapon and soon were seeing the pylons with which it was attached to the Malevolence.

 

“Launch torpedoes!” ordered Skywalker.

 

Blazing, pink spheres flew from underneath the bombers. The first few struck their targets and detonated, blowing away chunks of ablative armor. Then another and another missile flew at the same places. The next wave dug deeply in armor that was red hot after being rend asunder. It was too much. Few of the support pylons through which energy was fed to the Ion cannon shattered just as the weapon was about to fire. It was the worst possible moment for such attack to happen. The super weapon was unable to unleash the energy fed to its coils yet it had to go somewhere. Its mechanism exploded, sending nearly half of the power it was containing in a diffused sphere around the cruiser. The rest of the energy however was feedback in the Malevolence. It raced through the power grid blowing up everything within its path. Power conduits melted or exploded, terminals fused into useless pieces of scrap. Turbo-laser cannons exploded once the colossal energy wave reached them.

 

The cruisers listed to its right side. Multiple fires could be seen blazing all over its armored hull. The leviathan was crippled.

 

“Good work squadron!” The clones were congratulated by Master Koon.

 

I shared the sentiment and said so. Talk about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. That stunt was too close for comfort.

 

Three Republic Venator-class cruisers chose that moment to arrive. They jumped in near the station and soon we heard the familiar voice of Kenobi.

 

“Anakin do you copy?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Congratulations! Your missions looks like a success.”

 

“Grievous is still in one piece.” I decided to rain on their parade.

 

“That dreadnought could go into FTL at any moment. You and your ships should do something about it, Master Kenobi.” I added.

 

“Calm down. We'll take it from here.”

 

We headed to the medical station while the friendly cruisers threw everything they got at the behemoth which was trying to craw away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.**

**AN: This chapter was betaed by Dymian on FF net! Thank you very much for the great work!**

**Phase 02 :**

**Emotion yet Peace; Peace is a Lie, There is only Passion**

**=RK=**

**Part 1**

**Kaliida Shoals Medical Center**

**Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System**

 

The victorious remnants of the bomber wing and its escorts landed in one of the empty hangars of the half evacuated Hospital facility. I parked my fighter next to Skywalker's Y-Starfighter and after shutting down the engines I popped open the canopy and got out. I moved around Anakin's bomber and met him and Master Koon, who was congratulating the young Knight for his "excellent" leadership abilities.

 

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Ahsoka. "Delkatar was the one who knew that the original plan wasn't going to work! He warned us!"

 

"You are correct smarty pants." snarked Skywalker.

 

"It depends on the point of view." declared Plo.

 

"Indeed, Master Koon. Skywalker, a word." I said after hearing their exchange.

 

The younger man turned around to face me.

 

"Yes? What is it?"

 

"Tell me, how often have you led clones or other pilots who are not force sensitive in battle?"

 

Skywalker frowned at my question.

 

"I've been a General for less than a month and I was assigned a fleet to command three weeks ago."

 

"That figures. Did you have any military training before being given command? Has someone tried to hammer in your head that most people could not perform as well in combat as Force users? We were fortunate that Grievous did not send more vultures to intercept us as well as the pylons supporting the Ion cannon were that vulnerable. If that cruiser did not try to fire just after the bombers hit its weapon this station would be gone and Kenobi's ships would be in a heap of trouble. "

 

The Jedi Knight looked positively mutinous. It seemed that no one had taken him up to a task in a long time. But I could see him thinking, which was a good thing. There were much more ways the bomber raid could have gone to hell then I could think from the top of my head.

 

"Skywalker, you need to understand that expecting normal people to be able to keep with you, will only get them killed. There are few aces that could pull stunts just like you in the cockpit of starfighter and that is before the Force is factored in. So in the future plan accordingly or you'll get a lot of good men killed."

 

I shook my head. "I'll never know whose idea was to put you Jedi as generals without first giving you at least basic military training!" I grumbled.

 

"That's not fair! We do good work out here!" disagreed Ahsoka.

 

I removed my helmet and looked her in the eyes.

 

"Look kid, I am not disputing that you are doing your best and sometimes even better. But the way this war is being run is Insane! How many people will die because you have to learn the craft of war on the battlefield, where every mistake is paid with blood and lives?"

 

"I... but..." muttered Ahsoka. "Arghhh!" The young Togruta clasped her hands into fists and growled.

 

"Too damn many..." whispered Skywalker.

 

The smirk which was on his face ever since the Ion Cannon was blown up was gone. I suspected that he was recounting all the battles he's been part of since the start of the war. I had no doubt that a lot of Jedi had been killed and battles lost because the newly minted commanders of the GAR had no idea what the hell they were doing. That explained the attitude of Yularen towards the Jedi too. While he followed their orders, the Admiral, had no respect for the Order members. Probably he has been part of battles in which the Jedi's lack of experience (and the disturbing tendency of some of them not to listen to advice) had let to easily avoidable losses. Then, considering his rank, Yularen would have undoubtedly read a lot of reports showing debacles caused by the new generals. No love lost there either.

 

"Then see to it that you do not make the same mistake twice. And listen to the military commanders you have access to. For example, it is very unlikely that Admiral Yularen has gotten his rank without knowing what the hell he was doing. "

 

Skywalker gave me a sharp nod and left. He had a thoughtful expression on his face.

 

I found myself alone with Ahsoka and R2-D2 who whined after Anakin. I grinned at the short astromech droid.

 

"So, you have your manipulators full with him, haven't you?" I asked the droid.

 

"Beeb-boo-br-bep!"

 

"I see. My condolences. It's hard to keep a hard-headed Jedi in one piece."

 

"Booop! Wheep! Breep! Boop!"

 

"So your mistress wants him intact. Well, good luck with that."

 

"That's Master Skywalker. He is one of a kind." said Ahsoka with a sad expression on her face. "Was it different in your time?"

 

I nodded.

 

"Military strategy and tactics were taught at both the Sith Academy on Korriban and The Jedi Temple. It was a different galaxy. You've had it easy. What was it? A millennium of peace? If you said that such a thing was possible during my time you'd be called mad and laughed out of the compartment. For us, Sith, the very concept of Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Conflict. It's how we grow and evolve. But it was also a trap. For way too many, conflict meant a war with the Republic. While that also helped to make us stronger it was a misleading concept at best."

 

"That is the contrary to what we are taught in the temple. There is no emotion, there is peace."

 

"What. The. Hell?!" I ground out every word as if I was shocked and furious. "So the idiots are teaching you to suppress and ignore your feelings?!"

 

Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders and gave me a small, helpless smile.

 

"Emotion, yet peace. That was the first creed of the Jedi from my time." I looked at Tano who was staring at me with huge eyes full with undisguised interest.

 

"They accepted their feelings but trained themselves not to be influenced by them when making decisions. We however, accept our passions. We do not fear them."

 

"That is certainly different. We are taught that emotions lead to the Dark side!" exclaimed the Padawan.

 

"That is lie. Denying your emotions? Ahsoka, you are a living, thinking and, most importantly, a feeling being. What do you think happens when the emotions become too much to handle after you've denied them all your life?" I asked quietly.

 

Ahsoka shook her head in denial.

 

"It is ironic, you know. For you Jedi, my kind are despicable servants of the Dark side. Do you wonder what we, the Sith, think about that? Every each one of us is in conflict for control with the Darks side. It never ends. It is what defines us. And here is the biggest difference between our world views; How it all started. The Jedi believe that you either have to suppress your emotions or learn how to disregard them. We on the other hand seek to control our feelings. We accept and revel in them. But we do not let our emotions control us. To do so means that we have lost our eternal conflict. "

 

We stood, shoulder to shoulder, and watched through the force field how the flashes of light made by Obi-Wan's fleet as it tried its best to deal a death-blow to Malevolence.

 

"You are trying to corrupt me, aren't you?" asked Ahsoka in a small voice.

 

I chuckled.

 

"That depends on ones point of view. I am trying to teach you to think for yourself. If that's all it takes to demolish the Jedi Dogma you've been spoon fed in the Temple... Well in that case you could reach your own conclusions."

 

She 'harumped' and walked away.

 

Tano was a bright kid. I hoped that she'll be able to see the Jedi teachings for what they truly are.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 2**

**The Negotiator, Obi-Wan Kenobi's Flag ship**

**Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System**

 

From the bridge of the Venator class star destroyer, our target looked positively huge. The Malevolence dwarfed the three cruisers which were unleashing hell on the crippled dreadnought. Its stabilizers were destroyed yet that did not deter the Flag ship of General Grievous from attempting to flee.

 

For the last few hours, the Negotiator, Resolute and their sister ship

 

Dauntless were sending barge after barrage of blue turbolaser bolts but the colossal energies bombarding the enemy had no apparent effect. Its sheer bulk was absorbing the onslaught. The meters thick armor belt of the leviathan did not help matters either.

 

That was the disheartening sight which could be seen from the command tower of the Negotiator. It was watched by four Jedi one Sith and a Republic admiral. We all knew that the best bet of dealing with this monstrosity was with the help of reinforcements. Unfortunately the nearest fleet, which was under Jedi Master Luminara was engaging a Separatists fleet in nearby system. No help was coming from that direction any time soon.

 

"They are not making a jump to hyperspace. Their hyperdrive is down." declared Yularen.

 

"For how long?" I asked. "The fleet could batter at that thing for a week. If nothing changes its crew will have more than enough time to repair their FTL."

 

"The enemy ship is losing speed." reported on of the clones manning the bridge.

 

"Concentrate all fire on their command tower!" ordered Kenobi.

 

The fire from the three star destroyer's slackened for few seconds while the turrets acquired new target. Then death rained all over the bridge of the Malevolence. We stared at behemoth. The effect was underwhelming.

 

"At this rate we'll be here for a long time." I said with a hint of exasperation in my voice. We were unbelievably lucky that the attack run on the Ion Cannon disabled the rest of the dreadnought's weapons. Otherwise that thing would have made a short work of the Venators. These carrier/battleship hybrids were clearly outclassed by such an adversary.

 

What happened next confirmed something I was suspecting. ROB had messed with my mind. It was the only explanation why I was getting blindsided by events from Clone Wars episodes that I thought I remembered. I guess it was decided that with me being a Sith with training and abilities unseen for a very long time, it was more than enough going my way. No need to let me keep detailed knowledge about the war in which I was thrown.

 

It all started innocently enough. Ahsoka, who was looking over the sensor feeds was the first to detect a small transport ship exiting from FTL on top of the Malevolence.

 

"Are those enemy reinforcements?" asked Anakin just as the Admiral opened his mouth to do so too.

 

"No..." the Padawan trailed off. "It looks like a Naboo ship..." she grimaced.

 

"Cease fire!" shouted Kenobi. "What in God's name is she doing here?"

 

I decided to play dumb.

 

"Is that a friend of yours?" I asked innocently. Or as innocently someone like me could.

 

"Ahsoka, contact that ship!" snapped Anakin.

 

"Naboo transport, identify yourself! You are in the middle of an active war zone!"

 

"This is senator Amidala!" a distorted female voice came over the comm system.

 

A small hologram of hissed to life over the control station on which Ahsoka was working. To tell you the truth, the former queen looked better in real life that in either the Clone Wars or the movies. While her features were generally the same, they were a softer and had few miniscule differences which made her look stunning. I could see why a nine years old Anakin thought that she was an angel.

 

"Padme! What are you doing here?!"

 

"I am on diplomatic mission!"

 

"Tell that to Grievous. I have the feeling he won't be impressed." I said.

 

Amidala glared at me.

 

"Anakin, what is that bounty hunter doing on your ship?!"

 

Skywalker winced. I wondered how he was going to explain who I was and why I was tolerated. I did not think that Padme would feel generous towards a Sith. Not after that mess on Naboo while she was still a queen.

 

"Later, just get out of there."

 

"You have bigger problems senator." I said.

 

In the same moment we could see her rocking in her seat. There were even more alarms blaring in the cockpit of her transport.

 

"It's a tractor beam." I deadpanned. "Our cyborg friend intents to use the senator as a hostage."

 

"I won't be used by the likes of Grievous as a bait! Continue the attack! Destroy that monster!"

 

I could feel a rage awakening within Anakin's heart. He gripped his right fist so hard that the metal of his prosthetic fingers groaned in protest. He fought with his anger and subdued it to a controllable, cold determination.

 

"Admiral, order all attacks stopped."

 

"Grievous will use this opportunity to repair the hyperdrive." I said.

 

"What would you have me do, Sith?! Destroy the cruiser while Padme is on it?" Anakin snapped at me.

 

"I propose that we go with plan 'B'." I calmly declared.

 

"And what is that?" asked Kenobi who looked relieved that I was not baiting Skywalker.

 

I pointed behind my back at the smoking Malevolence.

 

"We go over there, save your girlfriend and deal with Grievous the old fashioned way."

 

"Padme... She... She's not my girlfriend!" Anakin spluttered.

 

Then he headed towards the exit and I followed suit. It was time to see if Skywalker was all that he was hyped out to be.

 

"And where are you two going?" asked Kenobi.

 

I could sense a tiny bit of forlorn hope that Anakin was not about to do something dangerously stupid. That was promptly dashed.

 

"Someone has to save her."

 

"And I have an appointment with Grievous."

 

"I knew you'd said that." Kenobi muttered and followed us.

 

Behind us Master Koon showed his pessimistic side.

 

"I am afraid that they are making a terrible mistake."

 

The last thing I heard from the bridge was Asoka's voice:

 

"Master Skywalker's brainstorms are an acquired taste. You'll get used to it. Hopefully..."

 

**=RK=**

 

"Skywalker, you need a new ship." I groaned when we ended in the cockpit of the Jedi's flying scrap pile. What is it with an ugly rust buckets and 'heroes' in this universe?!

 

"Well, it flies..." trailed off Kenobi. He apparently wanted to defend the choice of personal ship that his former apprentice had made but the words refused to exit his mouth once he carefully looked around. "Anakin, the last time this thing at least looked barely space-worthy."

 

"What can I say, master? These things happen."

 

"Only to you Anakin. Only to you. I gather that you have a plan?"

 

I smiled at the banter between master and apprentuce but it was short lived. It reminded me about one of the few regrets Darth Vael had. The Sith had never taken an apprentice, which in a sense was the ultimate test for one of my kind.

 

"In fact, I have."

 

"And a plan B?"

 

"And a C and D? Having contingency plans is important, Skywalker."

 

"I don't have yet. Why don't you two grouchy old men figure it out while I get us to that cruiser?"

 

"You, know Kenobi. It's your fault." I smiled at the older Jedi.

 

Said "elderly" man slumped in his chair.

 

"So they keep telling me." he grumbled. "Where did I go wrong?" he asked of the heavens.

 

'Where do I start?' I thought.

 

**=RK=**

 

The Force was with us. That is the only explanation why the first part of Anakin's plan went flawlessly. We just flew to the Malevolence and docked to an airlock in a sector of the ship where the sensors were down. We did not get noticed by one of the thousands of droids crewing the leviathan. If we were somewhere else I would have said that it was pure luck.

 

Kenobi agreed with me. He also didn'tt like Anakin's piloting. That was captured spot on in the movies. The boy was crazy.

 

We exited Skywalker's scrap pile and found ourselves in a small elevator. Most of the floors to which it led were blocked by debris or fires. We headed upwards and when the elevator stopped on one of the upper decks and the doors opened we were greeted by a pair of unarmed B-1 droids.

 

To my surprise, the robots really bantered just like in the cartoon.

 

"I knew it! It's them!" said one of the machines while it was carefully stepping back.

 

"Oh, no! There are three of them this time!" added the other, which was waving its hands in resemblance of panic.

 

The Jedi make a short work of the unfortunate synthetics and we raced down a long hall. The side corridors were blocked, so for the moment we didn't have much choice in picking up our direction.

 

We had ran couple of hundred meters from the elevator when Skywalker's comm started beeping.

 

"Master, we have found the Senator. I am patching you through."

 

Skywalker's flame was on one of the lower levels. While I listened to the exchange between the married couple I wondered how no one besides Palpatine figured out that those two were madly in love. I could hear it in the inflection of their voices. The way Anakin's aura flared protectively when he spoke with (or about) the senator while she was in trouble.

 

My lips twitched with amusement. Amidala was not glad that we were here to rescue her if the angry shouting was anything to go by.

 

The lovebirds finally agreed that we should meet into a big open space that was detected by Ahsoka in the middle of the dreadnought. Few minutes and five unfortunate droids later we were overlooking an internal monorail system which had multiple levels. Not too bad way to move a vast quantities of supplies and spare parts quickly but to me it looked like that the empty space in that compartment was too big for the task. Perhaps if it was used to transport more vulture droids or other vehicles it would not be such a waste of space.

 

Finally Anakin decided to use his Jedi senses and confirmed that Padme was nearby. Considering that beside us and Grievous, she was probably the only other living sentient being on the super cruiser, it should not have been hard to sense her position. I shook my head in exasperation and pointed to a corridor on the other side of the monorail tunnel. Then I cringed seen Amidala's companion. It was the contender for second place in the race for most annoying being in the galaxy. C-3PO. I started crafting plants for disposing of goldenrods. If Padme really needed a protocol druid I probably should find her a nice HK model which could mask as such.

 

Kriff it! I was starting to miss Darth Vael's faithful companion HK-117. I wondered if by any chance its data core has survived the millennia.

 

I should have known better. There was no way for those two lovebirds to reunite without drama. A squad of B-1 droids choose that moment to appear behind Amidala. The husband and life had just laid eyes upon each other when Padme had to duck under not particularly accurate blaster fire. She was forced to abandon her position and jump on a speeding train. The annoying droid stumbled after her and fell on another of the loaded transports.

 

The two Jedi activated their lightsabers and started jumping all over the trains speeding on the monorails. I drew my heavy blaster pistols and followed suit. I never understood why most force users did not carry at least a pistol as a backup weapon. You never knew when you needed to take out something at range and there are some things resistant to the Force.

 

Another group of clankers showed at one of the corridors overlooking the monorail. One of their numbers was dumb enough to shoot at the Jedi and was promptly blown away by its returned blaster bolts. The apparent leader of the squad said something that suspiciously sounded like 'I told you so!'.

 

Those were its last words, because a second later a hail of bolts shot from my blasters demolished it and its remaining companion. My weapons, which were designed to take out heavily armored troopers made short work of the mass produced cannon fodder.

 

Then I was jumping over the carts of a speeding train, which were loaded with various crates. I was submerged in the Force, using it to guide me to a safe course.

 

Soon enough I caught with the Jedi just in time to see Amidala jumping from the train she was riding. I noticed that the monorail it was ridding was a blown up in front of it, making it a twisted, burning wreck.

 

Anakin plucked his wife from mid-jump and guided her to his embrace using the Force. I had a good vantage point to watch the cuddling couple when I landed on the wagon behind them.

 

From above them Kenobi shouted that he was going after the golden droid. A waste of time in my opinion.

 

Anakin was about to kiss Padme and give me a bit of blackmail material when Obi-Wan interrupted them. The damn protocol droid was in a trouble. Fatal I hopped.

 

That was not the only snag. Kenobi had overheard droids talking about the hyperdrive. Soon the Malevolence would have operational FTL and this whole exercise would be for nothing. The Jedi Master, who was closer to the hyperdrive told us that he'll deal with it.

 

"Skywalker, get your girlfriend to safety. I'm going to assist Kenobi. With any luck Grievous will be there."

 

I left the married couple behind and ran back to the monorail tunnel. If the scans taken by the fleet were accurate, I could reach the FTL engine by passing through there. It appeared to be the shortest way from my position.

 

**=RK=**

 

Today was my lucky day. Or as the folks around here say 'The Force is with me!'. I didn't have to fight my way to the one of the best guarded locations on the ship. Shortly after I came back in the tunnel I saw a train heading my way from the side of the cruiser where the FTL was located. Obi-Wan was on it. And Grievous was chasing him. The cyborg had a light saber in each hand and was demolishing the containers that stood in his way. I raced towards my prey.

 

Grievous had Kenobi cornered on the train engine when I reached them. I vaulted over to the high tech locomotive just as the Jedi jumped away. For the first time since finding myself in this universe I drew my lightsaber from its hiding place. Gripping its curved handle gave me a measure of comfort I had not felt in a long time. I grinned maliciously and pressed my weapon's activation button. With an angry hiss a crimson blade snapped to life. It had the color of freshly spilled blood.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 3**

**Malevolence**

**Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System**

"Who are you?" growled Grievous.

 

The cyborg was looking at the newcomer through narrowed eyes. Many things may be said about the being who was the best commander in the Separatist's military. While very few of them were flattering, there was one thing on which both allies and enemies agreed upon was that he was an accomplished warrior. There were few beings who could boast as vanquishers of multiple Jedi. Even less were the ones who were not Force sensitive. Grievous was on the top of that very short list.

 

Thanks to countless hours of training with Dooku and IG-109 droids, he had become an accomplished Jedi killer. That only served to enhance his ability as the Supreme Commander of the Droid army. Now he had the skills to easily handle most of the Order members, something at which the robots under his command were pathetic.

 

The warrior in the being that was once Qymaen jai Sheelal was why Grievous did not follow his standard modus operandi where Jedi were concerned. He could feel it in what little of his flesh remained. This masked creature he was facing was a breed apart. Then the man whose face was hidden by mandalorian mask activated his lightsaber. The General's hate filled eyes gazed at the ruby colored energy beam.

 

"My dear Grievous. You should recognize my kind." mocked a voice that was distorted by the armored helmet of its owner.

 

**=RK=**

 

I could feel the unrestrained might of the Force bubbling all around me. My blood sung with battle lust. And for a moment I was one with the phantom of a long dead Sith. I welcomed the sweet embrace of the Dark side and let it slide through my body. It strengthened my limbs and made my reflexes something to be envied by even a cyborg as Grievous.

 

I held my blade loosely, not unlike a rapier from ages past on my homeworld.

 

"I've heard that you've been trained by a Makashi master, General. Let's put that to the test!" I sneered at the being which was more machine than flesh.

 

I surged forward. My blade sang with the sound of burning air. Grievous ran to meet me in the middle of the engine where our sabers crashed. I deflected a pair of diagonal slashes from the blue and green weapons in his hands and moved faster than the cyborg expected. I was within his guard in a blink of an eye. My left arm struck like a viper and clamped over his right wrist. That stopped a strike from his blue blade which was about to took off my head. My Force enchanted muscles and the cybernetic strength of Dooku's pet monster strained against each other.

 

While that contest of strength was going on, the lightsabers in our free hands were locked in a game of their own. Energy flashed between our blades as they struck each other with the unmistakable sound of lightsabers locked in a deadly struggle.

 

For few seconds it seemed that our raw physical strength was evenly matched. Technology held its ground against flesh empowered by the mystic power of the Force. However this was not a fair fight fought in a tournament circle.

 

Our stalemate was ended by a crate that flew from the cart behind the train engine and swept away the cyborg's legs. Thanks to the racked the machines racing all over the monorails around us made, Grievous had no chance to hear how the container separated from the stack on which it was secured and moved directed by my will.

 

"Argh!" shouted the General.

 

He found himself falling backwards assisted by an empowered kick which I delivered to the center of his torso. I could hear a faint hiss of pain emanating under his mask as the sack containing his few remaining organs was rattled by my strike.

 

Grievous found himself in a heap at the back of the cart right behind the engine. He had landed in a bunch of crates, few of which toppled over him. I followed with a Force enchanted jump. The momentum of the train speeding away under me added to my closing velocity with the general.

 

While I was in mid-air, the cyborg roared in defiance and used his synthetic limbs to throw away the containers under which he was buried. One of them was heading my way and it shattered over a cocoon of Force energy which I had formed around me to counter something similar.

 

Grievous jumped on his feet to meet me. My crimson blade few in an arc towards the rising cyborg. My weight and momentum combined with his unsteady stance into an unstoppable force which battered through his crossed lightsabers. His right hand was separated just below the shoulder plating protecting the Separatist's commander and flew away from the moving train.

 

However, the loss of a limb didn't slow him down. My charge had me out of balance and I had to duck under a sweeping strike from his remaining weapon. The Force screamed a warning and I was barely able to cross my hands in front of my chest as he kicked me as only a machine could. The durasteel armguards protecting my hands groaned under the sudden strike that fell over them. I was thrown back by the attack and was staggered when my flight was interrupted by a stack of crates which shook by my impact.

 

"I will kill you slowly for this!" snarled Grievous and lumbered in my direction.

 

I snapped my left arm in a well-practiced motion and a pair of darts with a micro Ion energy cell within shot at the approaching General. His lightsaber flashed in front of him and to my surprise, Grievous managed to intercept on of the missiles which sparkled as it was slicked in two.

 

It was not enough. The other flew true and struck him on the right side of the armored torso. Disruptive Ion energy was unloaded in his entrails and Grievous screamed like a damned soul. He waved his left arm madly as if trying to smite an invisible assailant. Small electrical discharges ran over his armored bulk and he shook as if being electrocuted. I guess what was happening to him was similar enough.

 

A grappling hook shot from his left hand and, by accident or design, latched on the underside of one of the monorails that were overhead. I didn't think that he was acting consciously but that did not matter. His body was picked up by the taunt metal wire attached to the grappling hook and he flew away from the train which was carrying me in the opposite direction. Before I could think things through I had thrown my lightsaber at the departing cyborg. The crimson blade hissed through the air and was guided unerringly by my will.

 

The train on which I was on choose that moment to take a slight turn to the right and enter a tunnel. I lost sight of my target and my concentration wavered.

 

"Kriffing machine!" I roared in anger while doing my best to keep my lightsaber from smashing into something.

 

The train engine felt my wrath as it caved in as if struck by a giant hammer. Emergency brakes activated and I had to draw on the force to keep myself upright as the cart on which I was lurched to a sudden stop.

 

I jumped in the air and headed to the back of the train. I had to nearly kneel as I moved over the wagons which were at the back of the open carts. The tunnel ceiling was that low. I vaulted over the last wagon and my feet struck the monorail line. Thanks to the emergency stop, the computer controlling the train system had stopped feeding energy in it. What power that still remained in it washed harmlessly over my well isolated armor. It was nothing compared to Sith lightning and my protections were designed to blunt the attacks of some of the most powerful Sith that existed in my time.

 

You gotta love genius engineers and well applied Sith Alchemy.

 

I ran over the monorail line back to the transport hub. To my irritation I could see no sign of Grievous.

 

"Lucky kriffin' bastard!" growled in barely restrained rage.

 

The Dark side was whispering sweet, seductive suggestion in my ears. It would have been so easy and satisfying to let myself be controlled by my fury. It promised me power and invulnerability. I sneered at the dark seductress and wrestled control from its influence. I knew those whispers for the lie they were. I was NOT a common rabble that would be enslaved by the Dark side's desires! It was mine to control! Not the other way around!

 

The Force twisted in a cloud of living shadows around me while I reasserted control over my feelings. The fury subdued to a simmering pool of anger and I could think clearly again. The Force gradually calmed down around me and I used it to guide me towards my lost lightsaber.

 

I found it down below, half hidden by the shadows cloaked bottom of the monorail hub. The low light vision mode of my helmet and its zoom function helped me see the hilt of my blade. Dozen meters away I could also see something that looked suspiciously like the right foot of Grievous. By the Force, I had taken another piece of that bastard! He should be easy to track down and dispose as crippled as he was now! After a nice long chat about all of the Separatists secrets he knew, of course. I was not foolish enough of discard such valuable intelligence source if it was possible to capture and interrogate him.

 

I levitated my saber to my outstretched right hand and was about to start searching in the Force for the running General when Obi-Wan called me. I cursed myself for a bloodthirsty fool! I had forgotten all about the Jedi who had let me deal with the local Boogie Man by myself. I had been so focused on my prey that I didn't pay attention to anything else. Talk about tunnel vision...

 

"Veil! I am with Skywalker and the Senator! We are heading to the Shadow! Anakin set the Malevolence on course towards a nearly moon! You have only few minutes to get over here before it's too late! "

 

Fucking Jedi!

 

"Negative! I have Grievous on the run! It is unlikely that we'll have such a good chance to deal with him any time soon. I'm going after him. You'll have to pick me up from one of the hangers when I've dealt with him." with that I cut the comm.

 

On a whim, I wasted few more seconds to retrieve the cut off foot of the General. If Grievous got away because of Skywalker's stunt I was going to beat that young, impulsive bastard unconscious with that piece of scrap.

 

**=RK=**

 

I was running through debris ridden corridors hot in pursuit of the Separatist Army's Supreme Commander. My progress was slowed down by groups of droids which were vectoring to intercept me. In the beginning of the chase, that was not a problem. The squads of three or four B-1 droids couldn't even slow me. They wouldn't have been a credible treat even if they could shoot straight. I wondered who in their right mind would produce "battle" droids without giving them adequate targeting algorithms and optics. Or even better a build in dedicated targeting computer. It was harder to deflect their wildly scattered fire back to the unlucky little buggers than it would have been if they were accurate shots! Talk about ironies...

 

As I said the B-1 were just an entertaining sideshow. The small part of me that was still a fanboy was giddy at the thought that I was cutting apart Star Wars robots! Even the shadow of Darth Vael approved of that. But the comic relief was soon replaced by groups of advanced battle droids. You know them – two meter tall, heavily armed and armored behemoths. They rained fire upon me with their fist-mounted dual repeating blasters.

 

While those things, at least at the numbers I was facing, were not even a moderate threat, they were slowing me down nonetheless. It wouldn't do for me to get careless or overly arrogant and get myself shot. I believed that my armor and shield, which I had not bothered to activate yet, would provide at least moderate protection against modern weaponry but I was not going to risk it. From what I've seen on this ship, the weapon's performance was average for mid-range gear from my time. However that was against the materials I've seen on the Malevolence. I had no idea how it stacked against what was used four thousand years ago. And the few B-1 I blew up with my blasters were not a particularly good test. It was obviously that those things were mass produced models which were build to be as cheap as possible.

 

I turned around a corner and ran in the middle of a quartet of Super Battle droids. For a split second I stared in the photoreceptors of one of the silver killing machines. Then all hell broke loose.

 

My lightsaber roared to life and I stabbed at the red eye of the machine that was glaring malevolently at me. My lightsaber swirled to the left and cut its way through the armored bulk of the dying droid. On its way to then next target if sliced in half the right arm of the robot I just dispatched. The second droid was bisected through the waist and its torso slid to the ground before the first two machines of the quarter, the ones I had ran past as I dashed around the corner could turn around.

 

One of the remaining Super Battle Droids tried to backhand me with its left arm. I ducked under the strike and planted my blade in the center of the offending machine. I moved my lightsaber upward on a ninety degree angle leaving a melted hole in the synthetic. I immediately followed with a diagonal slash which cut the last robot in two. I spun around and ran down the corridor.

 

The next thing that tried to stop me were a pair of destroyer droids. I could hear them approaching as they were rolling my way. They unfolded in an intersection which was in my way and were joined by four squads of B-1's. Before the dangerous machines could activate their shields I rewarded their determination to keep Grievous away from me. The moment I heard the Droideka's approaching I had prepared a pair of grenades. I lobed the Ion one at the crossroad second before it was reached by the droids. When they saw it, it was too late to do anything.

 

"Ouch." said one of the B-1 which had its head painted yellow. Some kind of command unit I think.

 

That was its last thought before a powerful Ion pulse overloaded their circuits. The still forming defensive barriers of the Droidekas were no match for the energy wave and they slumped to the ground while lightning tendrils were arcing all over them. My second grenade put a stop to that when it detonated, its blast wave and shrapnel shredding the machines. The two destroyer droids were wracked by few internal explosions as well.

 

**=RK=**

 

I reached the destination of the General's flight. I found him on the other end of a large hangar that was filled with wrecked vultures, droids and various burning debris. He was carried by a pair of Super Battle droids toward a fighter that looked like something straight out of a pulp science fiction from the middle of the previous century.

 

I waved my right hand and a piece of smoking metal which was lying near the General's fighter shot at the Separatist's Commander and his helpers. It swept their legs from under them and the trio fell in a heap on the ground. I sent a wave of telekinetic force at a pair of B-1's who tried to stop me while chattering about how doomed they were. The flimsy synthetics hit a nearby bulkhead with enough force to splatter them all over it.

 

Smiling under my mask I headed towards Grievous, who was shouting to his henchmen to help him. At a mental command, a blaster flew from my belt to my left hand and I opened fire on the two SB droids. Those were made from sterner stuff. My shots boiled craters in their armor but that did not deter them. One picked up the General and headed towards the fighter while the other moved in my direction and started providing covering fire.

 

I activated my lightsaber and weaved a barrier between myself and the killer robot. I continued to shoot at it and after a dozen hits on its chest plate the armor gave away. Its shining, silver chassis was a melted ruin by that point. My next two blaster bolts exploded within its chasis wrecking its internal components. The SB droid fell face down on the deck like a cut down tree.

 

I ran forward towards my quarry and I was shooting at Grievous and its last guard all the way. Energy bolts rained all over them. The cyborg screamed obscenities after the robot helping him few to the ground when I hit its knee joints from behind. I was already anticipating the face to face chat I was about to have with the Separatist commander when the Force screamed a warning to me.

 

Only a frantic roll to the right which led me behind a big piece of a blown up ship saved me from being torn to pieces by the concentrated fire of four vulture droids. The bloody fighters were in their walker configuration and advancing my way. Their wing had separated in two stick like legs and the droid fighters were doing their best to take me out.

 

"Damn it I should start paying attention! That is the hangar of a Separatist ship! Of course there will be vultures inside!" I grumbled to myself. I was acting impulsively without thinking through my actions. It was good think that Skywalker was not around to see me! The kriffing Jedi would have had a field day at my expense after the chat we had earlier.

 

I looked around to see what I had to work with. There were a lot of debris and remains of unlucky fighters. My attention was grabbed by a vulture droid which was smashed by a fallen crane. I smiled. I closed my eyes and concentrated. The totaled fighter droid moved carried by invisible strings. Its twisted frame gave a protesting groan when I picked it up and used it as a battering ram against its operational brethren. I propelled it with enough velocity to crumble on impact with the leading walker which was coming too close for comfort.

 

The machines smashed in each other with scream of twisting metal. They fell over a large cluster of burning debris. Sparks and flames danced over their broken open frames and found their way to the solid pellets of fuel with which the vultures operated. If the energy source was not being used to feed the engines of the droid that was operational mere moments ago, the flames might not been hot enough to cause a chain reaction. But as things stood they were the last ingredient needed for a colorful explosion. The impressive detonation threw the remaining three vultures to the deck.

 

That was my cue to act. I threw ion grenades at the two farther machines and jumped to the closer one. I ignited my lightsaber while in the air and landed on the frame of the droid next to its head. It tried to turn its cannons towards me but I put my blade to good use and stabbed it in his electronic brain. It took only a second for my laser sword to drill through the armor.

 

I glanced at the other two vultures. They were temporary incapacitated. That was good enough for the moment. Then I looked at where Grievous and his fighter used to be. Only the crippled Supper Battle droid was there. And it was crawling towards me.

 

That fucking tin can escaped, damn it all to hell!

 

The fury was back in full swing. I glared at the droid which had helped Grievous to escape and flung my right hand at it. It rose in the air with its limbs flailing uselessly around. I made a gripping motion with my fist and its arms and legs became taut. One by one its limbs were twisted away from the struggling machine. When only its torso remained the robot gave off a piteous whine before being squashed into a football sized sphere.

 

I let the useless clump of metal to hit the ground and redirected my attention to the disabled vulture droids. I vent my anger on them next by cutting them to pieces with my lightsaber. I, at least, was sane enough to be careful not to ignite their fuel.

 

**=RK=**

 

What got me out of my snit was the voice of Kenobi who wanted to know where the hell I was. I cut at a dismembered droid one last time and answered.

 

"I am in one of the hangars. Grievous got away."

 

"We have a lock on your signal. We'll be there shortly. The Malevolence is about it hit the moon."

 

"Understood." I grumbled.

 

I could feel slight vibrations in the deck. The ship was too close for comfort to the planetoid if the armored bulk of the leviathan was shuddering.

 

At least the Jedi didn't let me to hang and the Twilight entered the hangar in high speed. I rushed to get on board and Skywalker got us away just as the super cruiser was entering the upper layers of the thin atmosphere of the moon. At full speed.

 

The leviathan struck the moon with enough force to wreck a continent. It left behind a fireball that easily reached orbit. I wondered if the impact would be sufficient to cause enough tectonic upheavals and shatter the moon...

 

**=RK=**

**Part 4**

**Kenobi's command ship Negotiator**

**Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo**

 

Kenobi was out of the hook. While I dealt with Grievous he had made a sensible decision and went to disable the hyperdrive. The one I had a bone to pick up with was Skywalker. The Malevolence was dead in the water. Damaged and without FTL it was ripe for the taking.

 

A Sith, a bunch of Jedi and the clone ground troops assigned to the three star destroyers which were bombarding the dreadnought. Even if we did not receive additional reinforcements it should have been enough to capture the Separatist's flagship. By itself, the super cruiser was a great prize, not to mention its propaganda value. As it were, I hoped that at least Grievous would be out of action for some time. However unless my Ion dart caused more damage than I suspected all the cyborg needed were some spare parts. To make matters worse, I didn't think that the Separatist general would be dumb enough to face me alone again. For our next meeting he'll probably have at least few squads of those elite droids seen in ROTS.

 

"Skywalker! Tell me what exactly were you thinking when you sent that cruiser at the moon?" I asked after we landed and disembarked.

 

"The ship needed to go," he shrugged.

 

"Please tell me that you were out of comm reach from Kenobi and did not know that the hyperdrive was totaled?"

 

"Our communications were disrupted by jamming. I was only able to speak with Anakin shortly before we met near the Twilight. Why?" asked Obi-Wan.

 

"Well, with the FTL taken out the Malevolence would have made a nice prize. Even if the ship itself was beyond repair it still could be sent to the breakers. You saw how big it was. Even if it was only used as raw materials, it could have provided enough for a whole new fleet."

 

The pair of Jedi looked at each other. Apparently neither of them thought about that.

 

"That's a good point." said Amidala. "Who you are anyway?"

 

I honestly forgot that we were not officially introduced.

 

"Delkatar Veil at your service, Senator Amidala." I gave her a courteous bow.

 

Who said that we Sith had no manners? We just picked carefully to whom we showed any kind of respect!

 

"It's a pleasure. Did you really fight that monster Grievous to standstill as Master Kenobi said?" she asked curiously.

 

I grinned under my mask.

 

"Really, Kenobi? Do you have so little faith in me?" I asked and retrieved the cyborgs foot which I had secured at the small of my back.

 

I showed them my souvenir.

 

"He lost an arm and a leg but got lucky and escaped."

 

They stared at the piece of the cyborg. If I am not mistaken so far no one on the Republic's side had managed to even scratch the local Boogie Man.

 

"Ah. That's certainly impressive." mumbled Obi-Wan.

 

I could see it in his eyes. His estimate of my combat abilities had risen dramatically and with it the potential threat I presented.

 

"I just hope that with Grievous is disabled for the time being, so there so there might be a lull in the war." as she spoke the former Queen had a faraway look in her eyes.

 

"It's unlikely. The Separatists have other somewhat competent generals. Besides he is mostly machine now. All he'll need are some spare parts and few repair droids." I had to be the voice of the common sense. The CIS was on the offensive right now and it had strategic surprise on its side. There was no reason for them to slow down their attacks.

 

"Unfortunately Veil is correct, Senator." said Kenobi. He was one of the best generals the GAR had and knew the situation better than me.

 

Amidala looked at me with thoughtful expression.

 

"You appear to have a firm grasp of the strategic situation." she said and frowned. "I did not expect to see a Jedi with such an interesting outfit. You look more like a mercenary than an Order member, Master Veil."

 

"Why, thank you, Senator. I am certainly no Jedi. You could say that in this day and age I am a mercenary with a contract to fulfil."

 

Padme raised her delicate eyebrows in surprise.

 

"He says that someone hired him to take out Dooku and Grievous." said Anakin.

 

"That is not a wise thing to do. Many powerful Jedi had tried and failed. What makes you think that you'll succeed?" asked the former queen.

 

While her dislike for mercenaries was evident, I could sense honest curiosity and exasperation. If it was not for the cyborg's foot I brought as a trophy she would undoubtedly thought me a fool with a deathwish.

 

"Precisely because I am not a Jedi, Senator. They are peacekeepers. I am a soldier trained in the art of war. In order to win a conflict such as the one the Republic had found itself a different mindset is needed." I said with conviction.

 

"And what is that?! To bomb innocent civilians?! Take over neutral worlds? Do you want us to become as bad as the Separatists?" Amidala growled at me.

 

Joy. I was pushing her buttons without even realizing it.

 

"Bombing civilians, unless they are unfortunate enough to live near strategic objectives? No. That is usually counterproductive. It simply creates more resistance. From what I've seen since my arrival, Senator is the simple fact that the Republic has the better army and the Separatist possesses the better generals. As things stand, even if your side wins, it will be over mountains of bodies and oceans of blood. All you'll have in the end will be a long list of shattered and poisoned worlds."

 

She looked away.

 

"There are already too many such worlds." Padme muttered.

 

Anakin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

"We'll stop them, Padme."

 

She gave him a small smile then her piercing gaze returned back to me.

 

"Veil, you said your victory. You are not on the side of the Republic, are you?"

 

"I am merely an enemy of Dooku and some of the CIS leadership. That does not mean that I have any loyalties or love for your side, Senator. I am, however, available for hire."

 

Little did I know how my last words would came back to bite me in the ass.

 

"So, a mercenary with flexible morals?" she asked.

 

"You have no idea." muttered Anakin.

 

"I am who I am, Senator Amidala. If the Republic declines my services, well it's their loss." I left the group with these parting words.

 

**=RK=**

 

Master Plo Koon watched the strange ancient Sith as the man was eating in the mess hall while reading from a datapad. For the time being the Council had decided to let Kenobi handle the newcomer. For the foreseeable future, the younger Jedi Master's fleet was to be an operational reserve so with any luck the Sith would be contained for the time being. That would give them time to observe this Delkatar Veil and get accustomed to the presence of one of his kind who was not overly hostile. At least that was the plan.

 

The old Jedi wondered if the Force had other ideas.

 

For Koon, the existence of a Sith as Veil was a contradiction of everything he knew about them. Was Delkatar one of a kind or were the records in the Jedi Temple overly biased? Or perhaps this man was just biding his time and playing them for a fools...

 

No matter how much he meditated, Plo could not pierce the shadows obscuring the Force and thus the future. All he got was a vague sense that Veil won't be danger for them unless provoked.

 

All he really knew was that the presence of that man had made the maelstrom that were the Clone wars even more chaotic and complicated.

 

Of course what Veil would consider a provocation no one really knew...

 

**=RK=**

**Chancellor office**

**Coruscant**

 

"I see, Commander. It was fortunate that Senator Amidala was saved by our Jedi friends. But what is this I hear about a mercenary's involvement with that sordid business on the Malevolence?"

 

"By all accounts, the Senator was saved by Masters Kenobi, Skywalker and a mercenary named Delkatar Veil. Furthermore that man was able to wound Grievous and even took his leg as a trophy." came the reply from the Republic Intelligence agent.

 

"Fascinating!" muttered the chancellor.

 

He had received report from Grievous who claimed that an unknown man, who was wielding a crimson lightsaber had taken him apart. It was that mercenary. The Sith Lord wondered how a fallen Jedi could have become an apparently successful bounty hunter without his knowledge. Or was that man trained by one of the few independent groups of force welders? Yes that was the most likely answer. It's not like the Jedi would have left on of their rogues go free if they had anything to say about it.

 

That needed investigating. He wondered how best this new element could be used. Palpatine smiled. The man had helped save that troublesome girl, Amidala. His former queen had a penchant for getting in and out of sticky situations. Perhaps that was something he could use. Besides he needed more information about the mercenary...

 

Sidious snarled in exasperation. If it was not for that new shadow in the Force that was obscuring most of even his vision he would know more about this stranger. He wondered if the mercenary had anything with the disturbance in the Force but dismissed the idea. Someone powerful enough to cast such a shadow would not play such a petty little games!

 

**=RK=**

**Republic cruiser Negotiator**

**Hyperspace**

 

I spent the next week as a guest on Kenobi's flag ship while the Jedi general and his forces were acting as a reserve force, one among many which were discouraging an attack on Kamino. It was obvious what the Jedi were up to but I didn't mind it for the moment. I used the time to good effect. A lot was spent meditating (yes Sith do it on occasion, especially when we want to straighten up our minds) and getting more comfortable with the mental aspect of the memories and skills I received courtesy of Darth Vael.

 

The rest of the time I was either buried under datapads as I was catching up on current events or speaking with Kenobi. We were often seen arguing about the difference between the Jedi and the Sith as well as discussing tactics and strategy. Say what you will about Vael but he was an accomplished general and some of his skill had rubbed on me.

 

Right now we were discussing the consequences of my suggestion to Skywalker when the headstrong young Jedi refused to pull back his forces from Bothawui. When I heard that he was about to ambush Grievous ( who had recovered as fast as I predicted and was leading the Separatist offensive with a vengeance) in an asteroid belt, I gave him the idea to seed the expected battlefield with whatever charges he's fleet had in stock. He had done that in addition n to placing combat walkers on some of the bigger asteroids and using them as artillery platforms.

 

The improvised mines and the asteroid fragments thrown in all directions by them had shredded the shields on the majority of the Separatist fleets and even damaged some of their frigates. This ambush left CIS ships open for a hammer blow from Skywalker's cruisers and the walkers which had a field day with the enemies who had lost their defensive fields. The enemy formation had shattered and Grievous had fled leaving his dying fleet behind. That was one of the greatest GAR victories in the war so far. To make it even sweeter the only Republic's losses were couple of dozen fighters and score of walkers with their crews. That was a bargain price for a whole fleet. The only thing that might have made it better was if when the cyborg fled, Anakin was not too busy dealing with a swarm of vulture droids to follow and take out the bastard.

 

"That was a great idea! Without the mines, Anakin's men would have easily suffered at two or three times more casualties. With his novel use of the walkers his forces would have most likely won anyway but they would have been mauled in the process.

 

"It worked well enough." I shrugged. "Skywalker controlled the flow of the battle because Grievous had to come to him if he wanted to assault the world. It's not like he could ignore such a force at his back. Not when he needed to invade the planet instead of bombing it back to the Stone Age.

 

"Certainly. Anakin's cruisers were perfectly capable to execute an attack run while Grievous was busy sending his troops down to the planet. It would have wrecked the Venators, but it would have gutted the ground component of the CIS forces. While Grievous's fleet was formidable it simply did not have the firepower to stop the cruisers before it was too late."

 

"Yeah. While we are talking about Skywalker, pray tell, how long has your former apprentice been in love with the delectable senator?"

 

My question was carefully timed so Kenobi was just taking a sip of Caf when it registered what I was asking him. He spluttered, spraying black liquid all over the small table around which we were sitting.

 

"Sith spit! What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed.

 

"First, you are the one spitting. And second it's obvious. Don't give me that. You were his master for how long?! A decade? More? There is no way you do not recognize it for what it is." I smiled at him and awaited answer.

 

Amidala and Kenobi were the keys to keeping Anakin from becoming Vader and I did not need or want to deal with Skywalker going on the deep end. So I decided to proceed with my tentative plans for changing the Jedi and naturally I started with my minder.


	3. Phase 3: Mercenary

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.**

**Phase 03: Mercenary**

**=RK=**

**Republic cruiser Negotiator**

**Hyperspace**

I should work on my presentation. I almost gave Obi-Wan a BSOD. Perhaps the next time... But I digress. The Jedi sitting across the table from me, had a shocked expression on his face and a faraway look in his eyes. It was obvious he was thinking about all the little things that should have rang a warning bell in his head as far as the interaction between those two were concerned.

 

I decided that it was best to play ignorant. The outraged part about practically stealing children from their families needed no acting from me; by the Force even the Sith did not had it institutionalized as an official policy to basically kidnap children for training! And to think that the bloody Republic just accepted that... Granted, in a lot of cases the parents were glad that their kiddies were to become Jedi... In others, well not so much.

 

“I gather that your reaction is based on something more than those two lovebirds putting the wool over your eyes?” I asked feigning innocence.

 

“That boy!” snapped Kenobi. “He has to stop it at once! He could be expelled for this!”

 

I raised an inquiring eyebrow.

 

“Isn't that a bit harsh you know? Boys being boys and girls being girls... It’s not like it’s the first or the last time something like that has happened. How do you think most of the force sensitive come to be? Usually the Force is not going around blessing random couples for the hell of it...”

 

“It’s forbidden! Attachment and passion lead to the Dark side! He is too full of anger already and does not need further distraction! You saw Anakin when Grievous captured Padme on the Malevolence! If he had not suppressed his feelings...”

 

I snorted in disbelief. Ah, the powers of self-delusion! I wonder how the Jedi survived the last millennium like that.

 

“I call bantha poodoo on that! I came from an era when seducing Jedi to our side was a national sport! Let me tell you, there was not one of them who fell to the Dark Side because of love! Those who had someone to be in love with were the hardest to turn! And some of these people came back to your precious light precisely because of that love! So don't give me that nonsense you've been spoon fed in the Temple. You can think for yourself!”

 

Kenobi glared at me.

 

“How can you say that!? Now that my eyes are opened for Anakin's indiscretion...” I chuckled at his words, “I shudder to think what he would have done if Padme was wounded or if the worst happened!”

 

“And what is the worst, Kenobi? That the Senator could have gotten herself killed and thus removing a temptation for your precious chosen one? Or that he might have sought vengeance? You Jedi are deluding yourselves! You are not automatons without feelings! Dismissing them only makes you weaker! Why do you think that we were so successful in turning Jedi left and right during every major conflict? Because there were always some of you who wanted to cut off your feelings and that makes your kind such easy prey! What do you think happens when one of you Jedi is confronted with what he's been so busily ignoring for his whole life?!”

 

I could see the gears turning in Obi-Wan’s head despite his persistent glaring.

 

“That's not what I mean and you know it! I don’t wish anything bad to happen to Senator Amidala! If we do not discard our emotions we become vulnerable! They cloud our judgment! How could we fulfill our role as guardians of the Republic's peace if we let ourselves be swayed by our feelings?”

 

“Kenobi, despite the short time I've known you I am well aware that you are not that thick. Stop recycling those slogans and think for yourself! How could you guard the people of this galaxy if you could not understand them? Have you ever wondered how the average citizen sees your Order and its members? I'll tell you how! You are like a scary space wizards who prompt fear and distrust. You can't cut off a vital part of what makes you a living, breathing sapient being and call it an achievement!”

 

“It’s worked for a thousand years! The Code is the foundation of what means to be a Jedi!”

 

See, there?! He did not argue that many people see the Jedi in a less than a flattering light!

 

“Only because these new Sith were not interesting in a bunch of new recruits and decided to stay low! Your Code was not given to the Jedi by the Force itself!”

 

Obi-Wan looked to be deep in thought.

 

“No it wasn't. Yet it served us for the longest recorded period of peace!”

 

“A time when there was no one obvious to challenge you! And now you are playing in the hands of a Sith Lord. There are always emotions no matter if you try to discard them or not! It’s one thing to achieve an inner equilibrium and not let your emotions rule you! There are other feelings that fear, hatred and rage. You know that, right?” I asked rhetorically.

 

“I know that!” he whispered through clenched teeth. “It’s not about whether we can or not let ourselves be somewhat influenced by our emotions when not on mission! It’s about the temptation! How do you cut yourself from your feelings when it counts if you do not do it all the time?!”

 

“You don't. You simply train yourself to be in charge of your emotions so they do not control you.” I said more calmly. “And that is not a Sith idea. We had to know our enemies in order to fight them effectively. What you are doing in today's galaxy has very little in common with the Jedi of old. Find a balance that works for you while you keep your feelings. You won't fall to the Dark side by doing that. On the contrary, you'll be not only stronger for it but it will be easier to resist temptation that way.”

 

For a long time Kenobi was silent. When he choose to speak again a wry smile appeared on his face.

 

“Is this the way you turn Jedi from the Order? With logic instead of threats and torture?”

 

“Look at me and tell me, Obi-Wan, when do you think that I fell to the Dark side? “

 

He gave me a dirty look.

 

“How in the name of the Force should I know?!”

 

I allow a smirk to form on my lips.

 

“I'll tell you a deep, ‘dark’ secret, Kenobi.” Sarcasm was dripping from my words. “As the Jedi of my time saw it, I never fell.”

 

Obi-Wan gave me an incredulous and disbelieving look. It seemed to say ‘Yeah, pull the other one’.

 

“I flirt and struggle with the Dark side every day. It is a part of my existence. A never ending conflict and I am stronger for it. To fall to the Dark side is not so simple as using it and reveling in it in combat. It means being lost to her and becoming the raging beast you Jedi believe all Sith to be. The danger is that it’s always there, whispering to you. She is the sweetest seductress that there is. She promises ultimate power. A chance to sate all your passions. You just have to let go and let yourself be under its sway. Well, you know what happens then. I believe that most of the scary tales you are whispering about the Sith come from people that lost that struggle. In fact most did.”

 

Obi-Wan contemplated my words. I believe he was comparing them to what he thought he knew about the Sith. And this time actually thinking.

 

“How do you do it? How do you stand it?”

 

I sit back and give him a long look.

 

“It requires iron will and unwavering discipline. But neither of those are the true secret.” I leaned forward and whispered. “I know that all the promises of the Dark side are lies. The way to power through it lays in subjugating it to your will and never letting it control you. For that way lies madness.”

 

“That's not what I expected.”

 

“Do you want me to talk about the glories of the Dark side? About how it’s stronger? Heh. Neither side is stronger, Kenobi. The Dark side simply makes it easier to progress in different fields then that of the Light. Where you excel in mediation, defense and healing, the Sith are masters of warfare and destruction. It is not only our philosophies, but what natural aptitudes the different sides of the Force are more suited for. I can as easily kill as heal with my powers but with me being Dark if you will, I simply find it more draining to mend wounds than a Jedi would.”

 

“Hmm. You've given me a lot of food for thought. I'll think about it.”

 

“That is all I am asking. I have no intention, or need even, to turn you into a Sith. We should continue this conversation at some other time. So, pray tell what are you going to do about Skywalker?”

 

“That boy will be the death of me!” Kenobi groaned.

 

“Obi-Wan, as things are now, it does not take a genius to figure out what your Council will do with such information. They will force Skywalker to choose between his Queen and the Jedi. And let me tell you something. I've seen a lot of young men and women just like him. Both Jedi and Sith. His primary loyalties are to people, not organizations. If he is forced to choose between her and the Order, there is no contest. He'll always go to Amidala. I think that, in his mind, the loyalty to whatever Jedi friends he has is what makes him loyal to the Order. So thread carefully. He is probably the Jedi with greatest potential of this era. Do not make something happen that you'll later regret.”

 

There was another stretch of silence as the Jedi Master digested my words. When he spoke it was with resignation in his voice.

 

“I've always suspected that this may be the case but hoped that he'll change as he grows older.”

 

“What about you, Obi-Wan? What would you do? You have to choose between someone that you obviously see as your little brother and the Council. Will you betray him? Because make no mistake, if you are the one to tell them about his feelings for Amidala that's how he'll see it.”

 

“Bastard! You planned that all along!” His right hand fell over the hilt of his lightsaber.

 

I gave him a cheerful smile.

 

“That’s correct. Just not for the reasons you think. Skywalker is one of the keys for the future of both the Republic and the Jedi. With the current dumb policies of the Order, he is forced to hide his relationship with the Senator, no matter what it is. That is not something that inspires trust. In that regard, he has to see the Jedi as adversaries. What do you think will happen if the Sith Lord behind the CIS finds out about it? He'll use the feelings of those two against them. Instead of a source of great strength, as it should be, their relationship will be turned into a deadly weakness. Because Skywalker would have no one to whom he turn to for help. Don't look at me like that. Depending on how long their relationship has been going on, he might be so wary of the Jedi Council that he'll not confide in you either. Only disaster lies that way.”

 

I stood up.

 

“You've a lot to think about. See you around, Obi-Wan.”

 

**=RK=**

 

The next morning I was awoken by a grumpy Jedi Master who looked like he has not slept (or meditated) well last night.

 

“What did you do this time?!” That was his greeting.

 

“Mmm... Nothing untoward as far as I know. My gambit for galactic domination is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Why?” I quipped, and wondered what that was about.

 

“Very funny.” he deadpanned. “We just received message from the Chancellor's office. Apparently words of your exploits on the Malevolence had reached his ears. He has requested your services for a mission.”

 

Well, well. The plot thickens. Palpy had sniffed something. The question was how much he knew, what he suspected and what he thought he knew.

 

“Palpatine is concerned for the safety of his former queen. As you may know, he was the senator from Naboo. “

“And if the rumors I heard are true then Amidala has a knack for getting into trouble.” I finished for him.

 

The whole thing was obviously meant to be some kind of test. Despite his “wounds” Grievous may not have been believed. Nothing like blaming a boogey man to cover your ass. And the loss of the dreadnought had to be a major sore point for the Separatists. Besides, while on the Malevolence, I did a lot to downplay my skills with the Force. Liberally using the weapons I usually carried as backups should have helped sell that deception.

 

“So let me get this straight. The Chancellor wants me to do what? Babysit the senator?”

 

“In a manner of speaking. She'll be visiting the Rodian’s home world before the week's end. The Chancellor wants her to either travel on board of a Republic cruiser or get herself a bodyguard.“

 

“What I am? The new rage amongst the politicians on Coruscant?!” I chuckled. “I hope the pay will be decent.”

 

Kenobi’s only answer was an amused smirk.

 

“So I'll have to keep Skywalker’s girlfriend in one piece. If what I saw on the Malevolence is anything to go by, I'll have my hands full. I'll want additional hazard pay for this...” I muttered, playing up my fake freelancer persona.

 

My mind was busy calculating and discarding plans. Keeping such a high profile politician in one piece would do wonders for my reputation. With the war going on if I wanted my own command from the ranks of the GAR (one of my primary plans for dealing with the mess counted on such a developments) that was something I'll need. Especially considering the fact that as things stood the Jedi would do their damned best to block such an idea. I needed friends in high places both within the Senate and the GAR high command.

 

If this was during a peace time I would not have considered such a course of action. Sidious would have the deck totally stacked against me. But there was no peace to be found. And I had the knowledge of a good Sith general. This conflict presented a lot of opportunities.

 

This was the opening move of the great game between me and Sidious. I felt a shiver of anticipation run down my spine. After all the prize was nothing less than the galaxy itself.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 2**

**High orbit**

**Coruscant**

 

Arriving at Coruscant was achieved with a fighter that was loaned to me. My craft exited hyperspace in the outskirts of the star system containing the Republic's capital world. Call me paranoid but I preferred to take it nice and slowly instead jumping near Coruscant – I blame my paranoia about that. The few times I’ve visited that world in the past weren’t fun. Most of them were covert insertion in order to clean up one mess or another, or cause trouble for the Republic.

 

Besides, jumping blindly in the space around Coruscant wasn’t the best idea even for a Force Adept. Everywhere around the capital world of the Republic was usually cramped with both military and civilian traffic, which was even worse during a hot war.

 

So I jumped in the outer system in a region that felt safe. A Venator was patrolling the local space hailed and scanned my ship. The comm officer directed me to one of the defense stations orbiting the capital world of the Republic. I was instructed to refuel there and wait for Senator Amidala’s transport. He also gave me the coordinates for a military staging area in high orbit of Coruscant, where I was to meet Padme some time later.

 

After I landed on a Golan I station, my Torrent was checked up by a group of clone engineers while a pair of droids refueled it. I chatted up a bit with the technicians while they were going over my craft. As expected they knew a lot of rumors but nothing I thought was credible. Most of it was speculation about a Republic fleet that was resupplying nearby and where it would be going once that was done.

 

I was out of the cockpit to stretch my legs a bit while looking over the various small craft and transports landed in the dock. They had teams of engineers scurrying all over them. I turned to the entrance, where through the soft bluish glow of the force field containing the atmosphere I could see Coruscant. To tell you the truth, despite having seen the planted from orbit multiple time, the city world still looked incredible.  The sight was made even more awe-inspiring because the station was holding orbit over the dark side of the world. The surface was blazing with countless lights in spreading in starburst patterns from various cities and country sized industrial zones.

 

I wondered how many trillions made their homes upon the world strewn bellow me.

 

If looks were anything to go by, Coruscant was a fitting place for the seat of the government that ruled most of the galaxy. It was too bad that the Republic was barely functioning house of cards.

 

**=RK=**

 

Amidala decided to be a pain in the ass from the moment we spoke on the comm.

 

“This is a peacekeeping mission. Diplomacy is needed, not some more warmongering. I don't want any accidents! We aren't going there to provoke the Rodian government or attack them! I want you on your best behavior, is that clear?!” The Senator snapped waspishly at me the moment we had established connection.

 

Gee. I didn’t make a good first impression, did I? Where do I start?!

 

In my experience there were very few problems that could not be made to go away by attacking them and employing overwhelming firepower – preferably from orbit. That usually did the trick. I wondered if Amidala was pissed at me personally or I was just a convenient target for her vitriol after being overruled by Palpatine about needinf a babysitter. Before leaving the Negotiator and heading here I heard Kenobi mentioning something about the Chancellor threatening to stick her with at least a platoon of clones if she persisted with her suicidal stunts. Or perhaps it was an Acclamator with a full complement of fighters and ground troops because she got in enough trouble to warrant such a response...

 

“Senator Amidala, this little exercise was not my idea. I'll do anything in my power to fulfill my contract which is to keep you in one piece and bring you back here alive. If that means ruffling some feathers, then so be it. Please do not forget that I am not under your command. Now, if you've finished unloading your grievances with whoever decided that I am the best man to be your bodyguard onto me, are you ready to depart? I was informed that you wished to visit an old family friend on Rodia ASAP. Is that correct?” I spoke in deceptively calm voice.

 

 

The last Republic Senator with such an attitude I spoke to died screaming, the wanker.

 

“Yes I've known senator Farr since I was a child. His world is in crisis and his people are starving.”

 

 

“Said world is in a middle of a war zone in the Outer Rim. To be honest, Senator, in order to guarantee your safety I'll need a bloody fleet but that is something you apparently refused. Most unwise in my opinion. Eh, it’s your life. Shall we head to our destination?”

 

**=RK=**

**Planet Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

I was glad that I had to spend the last couple of days strapped in the cockpit of the Torrent. The alternative – being stuck in one small ship with Jar-Jar Binks, wasn't something I wanted to think about. I would have snapped and murdered everyone on board by the end of the first day.

 

At least it was a quiet trip because Amidala choose not to speak with me beyond the bare necessary for coordinating our course.

 

We exited hyperspace near the gravity well of Rodia. It was a green lush world covered by multitude of small islands and huge swamps. Almost as bad as Dagobah in that respect but at least it had some high tech cities and industry. Not to mention it wasn't a pocket death-world. Nevertheless, it was definitely somewhere that I wouldn't spent any time longer than strictly necessary by choice. While we were descending from orbit I felt a small tremor in the Force. It was a warning. As if I did not know that we were heading for some kind of trap after his Sithinesss arranged this field trip. It was not like I could accuse the Chancellor of being Sith without proof. By the Force, even if I had some kind of evidence the Jedi Council may well dismiss it as a fabrication because of what I am, and that wasn't taking into an account all the contingency plans Sidious should have in case his true identity is discovered.

 

 

The Senator's Nubian transport and my fighter arrived at a group of facilities (or were those the local towns?), that were covered by domes made of some sort of crystal. A sliding doors opened to admit our craft. I landed to the right of Amidala's ship and popped open the canopy of my fighter. To my pleasant surprise not only it was not too humid under the dome but Padme left the transport alone! She had the good sense to let goldenrod and the gungan on the ship.

 

 

However, I would have take points for not having a guard or two, or at least waiting for me to disembark – she could have been shot or something before I could leave the cockpit.

 

Amidala, who was wearing white blouse and pants had a purple hooded cloak hugging her shoulders, gave me a small nod and we departed. I took a position to her right and we followed the Rodian who was sent as our guide. The inside of the building looked like it was made of stone. It was a curious blend of old and high tech look that was pleasant to look at.

 

We were led to a courtyard surrounding a tower made from yellow metal. The Senator we met there and Padme exchanged greetings in Rodian which passed over my head. That was not a language I knew. After few pleasantries that you'd expect when someone meets an old family friend, the politicians got straight to business.

 

“You are talking about a friendship I could not see, Padme.” said Ferr as we were walking around the tower.

 

I drew on the Force and used it to expand my senses. Let me tell you, I didn’t particularly like what I felt.

 

“Where was the Republic when our ships were decimated?! Where is it while my people are starving? We were left out here alone! Isolated without help from anyone!” The local senator was quite agitated. I could feel his anger, fear and shame all combined with increasing amount of nervousness.

 

 

“The vote was slowed down but I can assure you, uncle Comm, you will receive the food soon!” Padme tried to calm down the Rodian.

 

So Palpy was back to his old tricks in the senate. Business as usual. Sometimes I wonder why no one tried and succeeded in overhauling the way the Republic was run. Then the obvious answer came unbidden – the member systems liked the Republic just as it was – somewhat useful, but not too strong or effective so they could conduct their business in relative peace.

 

“I'm sorry. It is too late.” Ferr shook his head.

 

Ah, he was ready to spring the trap, wasn’t he?

 

“Oh, you will be, Senator Ferr. Do you think that the welcoming committee is strong enough?” I spoke for the first time since landing.

 

“Veil! You will not threaten a Republic Senator!” Amidala snapped at me.

 

Damn it, the woman was oblivious. Small surprise she got into so much trouble.

 

“I am not. You are no longer with the Republic, are you, Ferr.?” The Rodian blanched at the menace contained in my voice.

 

He glared at me and returned his attention towards Amidala.

 

“I am sorry, dear. Nute Gunray, the leader of the Separatist promised us generous help. In the end I must do what is best for my people.” he said while looking sad.

 

Huh. He actually didn’t want to betray Padme, though I couldn’t say the same about his feelings about the Republic. I was almost sure that he won’t be losing any sleep over the latter.

 

Ferr proceeded to tell us how good the Neimodean’s help had been so far. Certainly much more than the distant Republic could have done considering the strategic situation. In the end, Rodia was a small world which wasn’t too important when there was a galaxy spanning war raging all around us. Truth to be told, in this case I could honesty say that both sides were right. From their point of view. Ferr, was doing his duty to his people. It was too bad – for him – that today his decisions made him my enemy.

 

“I did what I had to. For my people's sake.” The Rodian sounded apologetic and I sensed he meant it.

 

“It doesn’t really matter.  This is a mistake that you may even live to regret.” I smiled under my mask. I could hear the clanking of metal feet moving our way as well as sense the droids approaching us.

 

My primary problem was that we were in too open a place. If I engaged here it was likely that Amidala would be hit. It was time to improvise. I removed a personal shield mounted into an armband and placed it on Padme’s right arm.

 

“Hey! What do you think you are doing?!” Amidala exclaimed.

 

 

I ignored her and activated the defensive screen which snapped to life and enveloped her snugly. A bit of radiation poisoning was preferable than being blasted to pieces.

 

Instead of grabbing her and running away, like most bodyguard would have done, I waited. The Force whispered to me that doing so would be for the best. What little I remembered from the episode of the Clone Wars that dealt with the events that were unfolding around me meant that we needed to bide our time. An opportunity awaited that way.

 

We were surrounded by twenty B-1's and a couple of Super Battle droids. Most of them were pointing their weapons my way. I just grinned and gathered the Force around me. I just knew that it would be any time now…

 

The traitorous Rodian retrieved a palm sized disc from his robes. It was a holocomm. Over it appeared a blue hologram of an ugly (as if there was any other kind) Neimoidian who was wearing garish clothes.

 

“Viceroy. That's unexpected.” Amidala sounded surprisingly calm, though her emotions revealed the truth – she was torn between anger, fear and feeling betrayed.

 

“You won't get away this time. We made a deal with your friend and you are an important part of it. Your henchman won’t help you either!” Gunray announced gleefully.

 

“I am sorry my dear. I had no choice in the matter.” Ferr lowered his gaze.

 

“You are making a mistake! There is always an alternative!” Padme pleaded.

 

“Take her away.” Ferr ordered without daring to look at Amidala.

 

A pair of B-1's grabbed Padme's arms and started dragging her away.

 

“That was a wise decision. I will be there within the hour to bring the promised supplies and collect the senator.” sneered the Neimoidian. He looked at me. “Kill the spare.” The overgrown toad ordered before cutting off the connection.

 

I laughed. I hoped that Gunray would arrive as scheduled.

 

“I'm sorry.” The Rodian senator muttered and looked at the droids.

 

“You heard the Viceroy. Kill him.” Ferr pointed at me.

 

“Do you really think they’re up to the task?” I chuckled.

 

“Roger, Roger!” answered the droids and opened fire.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 3**

**Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

I used the Force to activate a shield unit that was placed around my left arm.

 

The protective field enveloped me like a sheath just as Ferr ordered my murder. I held still for a fraction of a second while making sure that Amidala was distant enough from my position. Once that was done I unleashed telekinetic wave all around me.  A sphere of invisible power exploded from my body and engulfed the short droid platoon that was surrounding me. My shield absorbed the few shots that the CIS troops managed to get off before the sh0ockwave threw them in all directions.

 

I watched with satisfaction how Ferr bounced off the ground and stayed down. Only his groaning gave indication he was still alive. I called my blasters from their holsters with a thought and jumped to find their way into my outstretched hands. My first two shots took off the heads of the cannon fodder that was escorting Amidala to some dingy cell. I ignored Padme who wasted few precious second by gawking at me before she grabbed one of the weapons of her disposed of captors.

 

While I kept a small part of my mind occupied with tracing Padme's position, most of my attention was concentrated on taking out the robots that tried to kill me. Before the machines could recover from my surprise attack I had blown to pieces three quarters of the B-1's. Those fragile things needed only a single, well placed blaster bolt.

 

Only four of the mass produced irritants were left when those remaining were able to grab a weapon and return fire. It was at that time when the SB droids had recovered and unleashed hail of crimson death in my direction.

 

Thanks to my deep connection to the Force I knew in which direction they were aiming and where their fire was about to go. I twisted, turned and weaved around a hail of blaster fire.

 

Two shots turned the torso of a B-1 into a scrap. I moved my head to the left just in time to avoid getting my brains evaporated. Without looking my left hand moved and I snapped a shot behind my back. I knew it will find its mark before the blaster bolt hat left the barrel of my gun. A snap shot destroyed the weapon of another mass produced clanker. My shields whined in protest as I ducked a moment too late and was caught as one of the SB's stitched a line through the air with its repeaters.

 

I answered by snapping shots in its direction as fast as I could press the triggers. Seconds later its armor was a melted river running down its front and it fell like so much scrap.

 

A barrel roll took me from the line of fire of the remaining Super droid. Amidala's accurate fire had disposed of the last two B-1s by now. We concentrated our firepower on the last machine standing and shortly the droid caved under our onslaught.

 

My shield had gotten as low as fifteen percent. Not too bad for a piece of ancient technology.

 

A glance at Padme showed me that she was thinking on her feet. She had a communicator in her hand and was talking in it. If her droid and the bloody gungan had not destroyed the Nubian transport yet there were good chances that they'd be able to signal for reinforcements.

 

After checking for enemies in the immediate vicinity and founding nothing I turned to Ferr who was still moaning on the floor. I holstered my weapons and, with a gesture, had him suspended in the air in front of me.

 

“Senator Ferr, how good of you to wait for us.“I smiled as I used just enough pressure to make him struggle for each breath. “Please tell me what Separatist forces are stationed in this facility and on the planet.”

 

Amidala came to stand next to me.

 

“Uncle...” she whispered in horror. “Veil! Put him down! We are not torturing prisoners!”

 

“I won't hurt your friend too much if he cooperates, Senator Amidala. Besides I am not part of your precious Republic.” I told her with emotionless tone. Then I tilted my armored head in the Rodian’s direction. “Please resist. It will be more fun that way.”

 

Needless to say he sang like a canary after he saw that I was serious and was ignoring Padme's threats and protests. There was additional platoon of B-1 droids with a dozen or so Super Battle droids and couple of droidekas rolling around. He also told us that there was a powerful communicator at the top of the central tower.

 

I let Ferr to fall to the ground where he slumped and gasped for air.

 

“See? That was easy. Now, Senator Amidala, if you are finished with berating me with your morality, we have to prepare for the Viceroy's arrival. But first we need to take that tower.” I pointed upwards “and make sure that the remaining droids do not raise an alarm.”

 

I waved the pissed off former queen to follow me and headed up towards the comm tower. On the way there I had to listen to her ranting about how evil were my actions. She was wearing my patience thin. I didn’t really touch the guy! I just held him somewhat tight! It could not compare to Vader throwing a temper tantrum much less something that the Empire would have considered a proper interrogation.

 

We made a short work of the few B-1's which were guarding the comm station and after a brief chat with a Republic task force which was conveniently nearby – they'd be all over our location in one and half hours, it was time to plan the reception of Gunray. That thought cheered up Padme who had by now had her frustration and outrage under control.

 

**=RK=**

 

I waited in the shadows behind near the landing pad. A terrified Senator Ferr and a bunch of his underlings who were formed in half circle in front of the location where the Neimoidian ship was supposed to land. They had a squad of B-1s as an escort. Apparently the droids stationed here were at Ferr's disposal unless his orders conflicted with detectives given by CIS personal. Getting the show in place was surprisingly easy. Even better, all the fear that the Rodians felt after I demolished most of the droids stationed on this little piece of land would be attributed on them fearing the Separatists.

 

A large transport headed our way just in time. I'll give the Neimoidians that one, they knew how to be punctual. A pair of vultures were escorting the Viceroy's craft but they broke off and headed back to space. No much choice with their limited operational time. According all the Intel and hands on experience the GAR had, those droids only had fuel for thirty five minutes of flight.

 

The transport turned around so that its engines and the loading ramp in its back pointed towards the waiting delegates and landed. It slid to the ground revealing Nute Gunray who was escorted by a pair of B-1's and two cloaked figures. I was suddenly glad that thanks to my perpetual paranoia I was masking my presence in the Force.

 

“The citizens of Rodia salute you!” Ferr made a theatrical bow to Gunray.

 

“Yes, yes, as they should. Now where is the Senator?”

 

“Up in the tower.”

 

“He is anxious. I can smell deception all over him.” rasped one of the cloaked figures.

 

So those two were Palpatine's test. I could sense the Dark Side pulsing around them. It was like an open, sore wound. Those idiots had fallen to it completely. My lips stretched in an unpleasant smile.

 

Well, I was going to slaughter them, but I had to hold back a lot. Making it look too easy was going to ring many alarm bells among both the Jedi and the Sith. I simply didn’t need such a scrutiny.

 

On the bright side, at least I was going to have a bit of fun – if I went all out this battle would be over too fast to enjoy it.

 

 My mind raced over the currents of the Force. It was as if I was outside my body as I looked at the Confederate transport from the side. I pushed with my will and the Force obeyed. The CIS craft shuddered. The two Dark side users looked around wildly in a search for the threat. The ship lurched to the left as I exerted my will over it. The spacecraft lifted without the help of his repulsors and was violently pushed over the side of the landing pad. There it fell in the swamp. Dirty water and almost liquid mud started leaking through its open ramp. That thing was not going to fly away any time soon.

 

As everyone's attention was focused on the transport's demise as a space worthy vessel, two of Ferr's retinue drew already active Ion Grenades from their clothes and threw them at the nearby robots. One was cut down by a B-1 who for a change was fast on the uptake but it was a split second too late. The Ion Grenade was already in the air.

 

The two Force users tried to push the explosive devices away but now that my attention was no longer on the disabled ship, I could use the Force to make their response much harder. The grenades stopped short of Gunray but were far from harmless. Their dual discharge was enough to fry all remaining droids and stopped short of the Viceroy and its special escort. The machines fell down turned into inert mass of disabled weapons and alloys.

 

The Rodians fared much better – they just got some light shocks and mild energy burns. That left a moaning delegation trashing on the ground and a Viceroy who looked positively ill. I headed their way.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 4**

**Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

I was glad that my last two Ion grenades all but finished the droids escorting Gunrey. Twenty minutes earlier I had Ferr order the all but a few of the machines stationed on this facility to gather in one place and took out the unlucky robots with most of the grenades I brought with me on for this excursion. Only the six B-1's who were used to make the welcome committee look genuine did not share the fate of their brethren. Until now.

 

I walked towards Gunray who was even grayer than normal thanks to his fear and the two cloaked figures who were his “escort”. The Rodians, who were recovering from the shock scrambled to get away from me as I went to meet the Viceroy.

 

“Gunray. Fancy meeting you here. And you've brought some entertainment supplies.” I nodded at his companions. “How thoughtful of you.”

 

The men sent to test me discarded their black cloaks. When I saw them I wondered if they were really twins as they looked like or whether Sidious had some limited success with cloning force sensitives…

 

They were about hundred and eighty centimeters tall, with short black hair and identical goatees. The one to the left had a nasty red scar running from his right temple, pass his eye, down to the edge of his jawbone. His twin had no visible scarring on the face.

 

“See Karoc? He does not look like much. I am sure that Grievous fucked up against Skywalker and Kenobi.” said the twin to the right.

 

“You saw what he did with the ship and those grenades, Vinroc. Do not underestimate him, brother.”

 

“Doesn't matter. Our master ordered his death. So he dies. That is all, Karoc.”

 

“You are correct, Vinroc.”

 

Mentally unstable brothers... I wondered what else Sidious and Dooku would reveal next. Those two acted like a bad actors from an eighties B-movie.

 

“So, we have here Dumb and Dumber. Aren't you supposed to be Sith or something? The Jedi are all losing their heads over some supposed Sith Lord that's been running around and messing up their boring lives...” I taunted the idiots. From what I could sense, they barely classified as competent acolytes and that was me being very generous.

 

“He mocks us brother.” said the scarred one.

 

“That he does Karoc. We are servants of his excellency Count Dooku and members of the Dark Acolytes.”

 

“A single Dark Jedi won't stop us! We studied the ways of the ancient Sith and were trained by Dooku himself!”

 

Don't you love it when the bad guys start ranting and reveal information you'd have to tear out of their bleeding bodies otherwise? The idiots who let themselves be controlled by the Dark side are no exception.

 

“You've learned the ways of the Sith?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Then by all means, show me!”

 

They moved around Gunray, who was hunched and looked like a terrified, wild animal.

 

“He wished to test himself against us, Vinroc.”

 

“We are more than willing to oblige him, are we not, Karoc?”

 

They retrieved simple lightsaber hilts from the depth of their black tunics and activated the weapons which hissed revealing red blades. Karoc immediately went into a Makashi dueling stance while Vinroc fell into Soresu form. I summoned the hilt of my sword and its crimson blade ignited with an eager buzz of scorched air.

 

I placed my weapon in the traditional low Makashi guard stance and waved the twins to come on. The scarred one came first while his brother went to my right in a flanking move. I dashed towards Karoc, bringing my blade in a sweeping upwards strike. It was easily parried by the Dark Jedi who sneered at me. As a user of Makashi himself he was well aware of that style of combat greatest weakness – it was developed as the ultimate expression of one on one duels and suffered against two or more adversaries more than anything else.

 

His sneer was short-lived. I erased it from his face when I locked our blades together and pushed his sword to the left. Then I spun around while staying in place and delivered a cracking backhand hit. The armored glove covering my left hand struck him on the side of the face with enough force to send him stumbling away from me. I could see blood leaking from his mouth.

 

I twirled the hilt of my blade in my hand, changing my grip in a backhanded Juyo one and moved my arm upward in a frothy five degree angle to deflect a broad slash form the other twin. The fingers of my left arm twisted like claws and I made a punching motion at Vinoc's open torso. My palm was mere centimeters from his chest when I unleashed a punishing blast of pure Force which threw him away as if he weighted nothing.

 

Battle lust sang within my heart as the Force flowed through me like a never-ending river. I ducked to the left, evading a thrust of Karoc's ruby blade. I spun again and used the weight of my body and its momentum to deliver a diagonal slash at the man who tried to skewer me from behind. The scarred twin rolled forward, passing a hairbreadth from my blade. I saw that Vinroc was still on the ground twenty meters away so I switched back to Makashi and made a beeline towards Karoc who was rising to his feet.

 

Damn it, even when I was holding back, those two weren’t putting much of a fight. This was supposed to be fun, kriff it.

 

We met with a flurry of clashing blades and the air was filled with the scent of ozone as energy discharged between our laser swords. We exchanged short precise stabs and slashes faster than normal being's eyes could follow. Our motions were blur of crimson death waiting for the tiniest of openings.

 

The familiar weight of my lightsaber hilt, comfortably snuggled in my hand... Having the Force within my grasp and directing it to do my biding...My heart joyfully hammering within my chest... The knowledge that my very life was balanced on the edge of my bloodthirsty blade and was in my hands... For a Sith the old saying “Live by the blade, die by the blade!” had completely different meaning. It was a moment defining our existence. A conflict placing us on edge between life and death with us relaying only on our skills and cunning! It was glorious! At that moment even the ever persistent whispers of the Dark side were silent.

 

It was too bad that those two weren’t a real challenge that I could properly enjoy. It was pity really.

 

Our blood red blades of pure energy met with a snap-hiss as I dueled Karoc. My opponent was a competent swordsman. His technique was well-trained and precise. For endless seconds he was able to hold his ground as the tip of my blade persistently probed his defenses by placing him under a downpour of feints and stabs. Then his guard was pierced and the scarred man had to jump back or be eviscerated by scorching energy.

 

Karoc regained his balance and smiled viciously when his brother came back to his side. They moved to flank me again and I sensed a warning from the Force. Their signatures meshed and I could see a connection being opened between the twins. Oh, boy. If they were properly trained that would have been troublesome. Perhaps a real challenge even. As it was, I had to be careful not to show how easily I could use their connection against them.

 

From the right came a rain of precise strikes aimed at my vitals while from the left I was subjected to the wide sweeps for which Soresu was so well-known. Suddenly the brothers were acting like a well-oiled machine with a single will.

 

I deflected a swipe that tried to take off my left hand and side-stepped a thrust from the other side. I grasped my weapon with both hands and got into the high guard of Djem So. I jumped over a low strike aimed at my legs. On my way down my blade arched in a lethal arch towards Karoc who staggered under the force of my blow. I rotated around the out of balance twin in such a way that he was between me and his brother. The connection they shared and now used had suddenly raised their threat level. Not by much, but it made our little training exercise a bit more interesting.

 

“Good. You are finally showing some semblance of promise! Show me what you've got!” I encouraged them. Who knew, they might still surprise me!

 

I bent the Force around me giving me additional speed and strength. I rained blow after blow at Karoc who struggled valiantly to retain hold over his weapon. I moved in such a way as to keep him between me and his brother. I could see the frustration etched on the other twin's face as I blocked his way by interposing his sibling between us. As I got closer and closer to cutting down Karoc, his brother darted forward with a war cry emanating from his lips.

 

I smirked at his action. So predictable.

 

I battered away the blade of the scarred man and fell in a crouch from where I delivered a sweeping kick that took his feet from under him. I send him tumbling away with a push of the force and twirled to meet the attack of the Soresu user. I met his slash head on and reposed after deflecting his attack by sending his blade upward. I executed my counterattack by bringing down my weapon while the twin's saber was still pointing in the air. When his attack failed and I pushed away his lightsaber he stumbled slowing his reaction for a second. It was all I needed. My blade flashed downward and took of his right hand between the elbow and the shoulder. The crippled man screamed in agony and fell backwards.

 

Before he could recover from the shock I summoned him to me with a wave of my arm and he flew straight at my outstretched blade. I buried my lightsaber to the hilt in his chest and burned his heart to a crisp.

 

“Vinroc!” keened the only living twin. “You! I'll slaughter you for that!” Karoc spat and charged me.

 

His eyes were blazing yellow and he was gripped by a Dark Side controlled rage.

 

I shook my head at his stupidity. For a Makashi user, what he was doing was pure foolishness. Without thought and precise control that style was nothing!

 

I used my irritation at his display to fuel my charge and met him halfway. Our blades crashed in each other and I send him reeling back. I easily deflected his wild swings and stabbing attempts, and turned my defensive moves into devastating counter strikes which Karoc was barely able to evade thanks to his still deft footwork. He was retreating before my blade, trading distance for a small measure of safety. I was not about to have any of that. I banished the fried B-1 droids at him as a distraction for a force enchanted jump.

 

Karoc snarled in anger as he slashed a limp robot in two and then groaned when the rest of the machines hit him. He staggered under the rain of metal and then I was upon him.

 

Thanks to his rage enhanced strength he was able to hold onto his sword for dear life when I landed next to him and delivered a powerful overhead slash. Karoc was brought to his knees but managed to keep the buzzing blades a centimeter from his head. I continued to press down, locking the lightsabers in a deadly vice. I easily twisted the blades away thanks to my superior leverage and smashed my right knee into his face. The durasteel guard protecting my joint shattered his nose and he fell to his back, stunned for a moment. My blade screamed down in a crimson arc and struck the left shoulder of the man who was dazedly trying to stand up. Karoc fell back bisected in two as my lightsaber exited his torso under his right armpit.

 

I turned my attention towards the only other living thing in the courtyard. Nute Gunray was pressed to the wall near the entrance to the landing ramp where his ship used to be. He was trembling and muttering to himself in his native tongue. I headed towards him when Republic LAAT's buzzed overhead and flew heading at my position. Behind them I could see the descending form of an Acclamator which was escorted by wings of fighters. The Assault Cruiser was disgorging waves of troopships. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the Force. I could sense at least three more of the capital ships moving in the general vicinity of this facility and there was a familiar force signature in the leading LAAT.

 

I grumbled. Why the hell the Reinforcements were early the one time I did not need their bloody assistance?! I was already under observation by the first flight of LAATs so simply cutting the head of Gunray without provocation would not do if I wanted to keep my reputation as a levelheaded fella and not a raging lunatic.

 

Before the first armed transport could land its side doors opened and a familiar form jumped out followed by an unknown female Jedi. I deactivated my lightsaber and grabbed the Viceroy by the neck of his robes and led him towards the Jedi.

 

“Hi there! Nice to see you again!” I beamed at the newcomers.


	4. Phase 04: Ghosts of the past

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.**

**AN: This chapter was betaed by Dymian on FF net! Thank you very much for the great work!**

**Phase 04: Ghosts of the past**

**=RK=**

**Part 1**

**Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

I stared at the two Togruta females who were first to disembark the lead LAAT gunship. The one I sensed – Ahsoka Tano – led the way. She jumped out and started bouncing around, obviously unable to contain her excitement. What she was doing here without her master I had no idea.

 

The second, who I didn’t recognize, halted me in my tracks. She was about my height if you do not count the curved horns, which were crowning her head. Her lekku caught my undivided attention. The were colored in soft blue and white stripes swung in a way which brought painful memories of my wife. I stared at the coloring she had over her eyes and went all up to her temples. It was snow white, with red rectangles over her eyes – which were, black and serene. The older Togruta returned my stare calmly and studied me in return.

 

The Jedi were followed by disembarking troopers, but I paid them little attention until  a clone commander who had his helmet painted green came to me and stood at attention.

 

“We received your signal. We are at your disposal, sir!” he gave me a crisp salute.

 

I smirked under my helmet and wondered how many of the Jedi on the Council would have conniptions when they heard about this exchange. I returned the salute and pointed at the sniveling neimoidian.

 

“You may get this sorry excuse for a sapient being out of my sight, commander. This facility should be reasonably secure but it won't hurt to sweep it for surprises left by the Separatists.” My tone was all business – something I was proud of, considering I just saw someone who for a moment looked damn close to my dead wife.

 

“Right away, sir! Men, take that scum away!” he ordered a squad of troopers. No one liked poor Gunray. Couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

 

My attention returned to the Jedi and I absentmindedly twirled my still ignited blade in my hand before deactivating it.

 

“Delkatar! Is Padme all right? Who were they?” Ahsoka pointed at the remains of the Dark Acolytes while bouncing around.

 

I wondered if she had overdosed on Caf, ate all the desert or something else in that vein.

 

“Slow, down kiddo. As far as I know the senator is all right. I left her up at the comm tower.” I pointed at said building. “She may need a bit of anti-rad treatment. I loaned her one of my personal shields but it was damaged a bit and leaks a small amount of radiation.”

 

Hearing that, a team of clone-medics and two squads of infantry rushed acting as escorts rushed for the tower. Good men. Never trust that an AO is secure unless your own men had swept it for enemies, and if you are smart you won't assume it is clear even then.

 

“As for those idiots they were a couple of Dark Jedi trained by Dooku. Nothing special.” I shrugged.

 

“Uhuh.” said the younger Togruta, clearly unconvinced.

 

“Ahsoka, won't you introduce us?” I nodded at the older Jedi.

 

“Ah. Yeees. Sorry.” Tano looked a bit sheepish. “Master Shaak Ti, this is Delkatar Veil. I am not sure as what to introduce him today... Bounty hunter? Dark Jedi? Or something else...” she trailed off.

 

“Master Ti, under other circumstances I'd say that is a pleasure to meet you. However, I do not believe in coincidences. The Council found records about me from the war, didn't they? That's why they sent you here, isn’t it?” I had to give them that – today’s Jedi sure were devious bastards. It was almost enough to make me reconsider my stance as far as the Order as a whole was concerned.

 

The older Togruta gave me a small nod. Ahsoka looked between with confusion.

 

“And you people claim that the Sith are the manipulative bastards.” I chuckled. Seeing that Ahsoka was confused, I decided to eleborate. “Ah, I see you've not been briefed yet considering that they sent you too, Ahsoka, you should know.”

 

“Umm... What's going on here?'' Tano asked in a small voice. It was plain to see that she was not liking where this was going or being in the dark. Understandable.

 

“Once upon a time I was married to a Jedi. A Togruta woman.” I nodded at Shaak Ti.

 

Ahsoka's eyes widened with realization. I could see her fighting to restrain her rising anger.

“It just happened that Master Ti was sent to patrol nearby with you in tow just when I had a mission in the area… If you believe that, I have some prime farmland to sell you. On Tatooine.”

 

“It’s not the most cunning plan that the Council ever had, is it?” Shaak Ti gave me a rueful smile.

 

“It’s a test at best and a provocation at worst. I’ll leave it for you to decide which is the truth.” I nodded at Master Ti.

 

I was torn between exploding with unrelenting fury and appreciation of the Jedi Master's trilling voice. So much for the idea I had gotten over Ashara’s death. Oh, how mistaken I was. At that moment I could understand and almost agree with Sidious plan for permanently dealing with the Jedi. Kriffing Council!

 

“You are my newly minted minder, are you not? You, Master Ti do not want to hear my thoughts on the Council right now. Trust me about that.” I managed to keep my tone civil.

 

If I started speaking about the Emperor damned bastards I won't stop cursing for hours. Instead I turned to humor, even if I was sure that the females would not appreciate it.

 

“Well, at least they didn't sent you to seduce me in order to keep me under control, did they?” I smirked. Not that I would resist too hard to being seduced by Shaak Ti. Even under the unflattering cloak and robes preferred by the Jedi she had a great figure and I hadn’t gotten laid in too damn long.

 

“What!? NO! The Council... They'd never... Arrgh!” Ahsoka spluttered.

 

To my surprise the Master Jedi had a ghost of a smile on her face.

 

“Not yet anyway.” she deadpanned. “Considering your history they thought that I would have better chances to get away in one piece if you went berserk as most of them expect.”

 

 

“I find their lack of faith disturbing.” I quoted Vader.

 

Kriff it, even four thousand years or so later, the Jedi still found a way to be a major pain in my ass.

 

“The Council will do what they got to do.” was Shaak Ti’s neutral response and it explained nothing. Or perhaps everything, depending on how much credit someone was ready to give the Jedi in general.

 

“What about you, Ahsoka? I thought that Skywalker needed someone with a bit of common sense to keep him out of trouble.”

 

The younger Togruta shrugged.

 

“Master Kenobi called him for some kind of mission. Almost at the same time my request to visit my home world and reconnect with my roots was unexpectedly accepted. I was ordered to join Master Ti and head to Shili with her after the patrol was over. “

 

I really hopped that the old goats on the Council did not expect me to try seducing both females. Ahsoka was a kid damn it – young enough to be my granddaughter. Nevertheless, with me being a Sith they wouldn't have put it beside me… if they thought about that being an issue.  And if I did so it could easily be used as a Casus Belli to deal with me – corrupting young and impressionable Jedi and other such nonsense would be a great justification in their eyes. Of course such thing would have most likely destroyed Ahsoka's future but who cares!? Sacrifices must be made for the greater Good of the Order.

 

'JEDI!' There was so much venom in that thought that it would have been enough to drop a whole Republic army.

 

Shaak Ti sensed, obviously sensing my bubbling fury, and cleared her throat.

 

“Well, I have an errant to run on Shili and after this patrol was over my forces were scheduled for a bit of R&R. Unfortunately that plan is now shot.” The Jedi Master sighed and shrugged in a way that was painfully similar to Ashara.

 

I heard before sensing or seeing the approach of Senator Amidala. She was arguing with a medic who was waving a hand held scanner over her. She was followed by C-3PO who was bemoaning his fate and to my ever greater dread – Jar-Jar. The bloody nuisance didn't had the good sense to get himself shot. Or the damn droids were just that bad at it.

 

“Senator, it’s good to see that more trouble failed to find you. This time.” I said instead of greeting.

 

“You dealt with the droids and scared the Rodians to death. What trouble should have I found?” She snorted but there was a hint of disapproval in her voice.

 

Then she took one look at the dead Dark Jedi and her attitude changed.

 

“I saw your fight from the tower. Thank you. With them around its unlikely that I would have been able to escape.” Amidala actually apologized. I think – her tone remained quite frosty.

 

This particular senator showing common sense? A bit reassuring. Besides its’ been a long time since anyone had thanked me for something, which felt kinda nice.

 

“You are welcome. I just did my job – a well paid one I hope. Even Ferr is in one piece for what that is worth. What's the plan for him?”

 

Padme looked at me with resigned expression. Without me around, she might been able to spin some tale how the courageous politicians had helped deal with the separatists. And if the twins were not here, which they were only on my account, she might been able to pull some crazy stunt on her own and capture the Viceroy. However that was not the case. And I had a video evidence thanks to a recorder build in my helmet. It was great for AARs (after action reports).

 

The senator or former one as very well might be the case, was brought to us by a pair of clones. Before we could speak more about his fate I felt cold shiver running down my back. The Force screamed a warning and I was spinning around. My right hand had a death grip over my lightsaber's blade. I saw a clone technician place a holocomm emitter on the ground. I had to struggle with a stab of fear as it dawned to me who would most likely be on the other side of the interstellar call. I slammed my mental shields down and used every little trick I knew to help shield my signature in the Force. The Jedi looked at me with confusion.

 

Palpatine’s holographic form appeared in mid air and the Chancellor started speaking.

 

“Senator Amidala informed me what happened and what your people need Farr. I already dispatched a convoy to Rodia. You however...” Sidious shook his head becoming the perfect picture of regret.

The traitorous senator looked at the ground. His small antennas hanged limply.

 

“I congratulate you for your courageous role in capturing Nute Gunray. It will be taken into account when your fate is decided, Ferr.” Then Palpatine turned his attention on me. “More than anything I want to congratulate you, Delkatar Veil. Your actions today not only dealt a great blow to the Separatists but kept a dear friend of mine safe.” Sidious smiled and waved at Amidala.

 

If I didn’t know better, I would have said that Palpy was actually the genuine and friendly old man he appeared to be.

 

“I simply did my job, Chancellor.” I gave the man a courteous bow. It was not the first and probably far from the last time I had to be polite to people whose guts I hated or planned to dispose of.

 

“I hope that the Republic could benefit from your services in the future.” Palpy gave me a winning smile that reminded me of a hungry shark.

 

“I am thankful for your kind words, Chancellor, but that is unlikely. The Jedi Council and I do not see eye to eye. I believe that there are those amongst them who would do their best to insure that my talents are not used. The Jedi upon people using the Force for their own benefit instead for that of their famous Order’s.” I snipped at the Jedi Order and hoped that Palpy would jump at the opportunity to snub them.

 

“That's uncommonly harsh view to have towards the Jedi, my young friend. They've been guardians of the galactic peace for a thousand years. Surely your view of them is somewhat biased?” Sidious asked sweetly.

 

If I did not know better I would have believed his honeyed words. Ever across the stars I could feel a subtle pressure to listen to him. And I think that he was not even trying! That was just his aura! Truly there were few Sith Lords I met that could pull that off. It would be interesting to see how he compared to them. Even if he was the strongest Sith Lord to rise after the fall of the Empire I served, that did not mean that he would be unstoppable juggernaut. When all is said and done, despite his apparent power, Sidious hadn’t had to fight every step of the way against countless Sith vying for his position. Right now there wasn’t a horde of Force Adepts supposedly working for him who wouldn’t like anything better than to replace him.

 

“Perhaps, your excellency.” I shrugged. “Time will tell. May I ask for a small boon?”

 

“If it is within my power. You did a great favor to the Republic I serve.”

 

Riiight. Pull the other one...

 

“I would want to join whoever escorts Gunray to his final destination. I caught him and do not wish my efforts to go to waste.” That would also give me a better opportunity to not only observe the Clones in action but possibly make a few useful contacts. Besides, ensuring that Gunrey would be unable to escape would be a boon too. He had to have some useful information locked up in that head of his.

Palpatine looked at me and frowned. I think that he expected that I'll ask for more – probably a rise of the promised payment for my services. Well, I would and soon, though this was an opportunity for more than just a monetary gain.

 

“I can assure you that the Jedi Council and GAR high command can manage but if you wish to provide additional security so be it. It’s the least I can do.” Palpatine nodded after a short time to think.

 

“Thank, you Chancellor.”

 

With that the connection was cut. I exhaled a breath in relief. I could feel him probing my mental shields which easily held. However that was not particularly reassuring. He was not dumb enough to try mind raping me while there were two Jedi behind me. But I can tell that he was interested in me. In the Emperor's name! I hoped that the old crafty bastard won't decide to groom me as his next apprentice. Those who aspired to that position tended to end badly. Cut in two, missing appendages and lava burns... It was hazardous for one's health.

 

I ignored Ferr who was begging Amidala for forgiveness and looked at the females who were giving me curious looks. Ahsoka was about to start bouncing again.

 

“Who gave the kid all the Caf and sweets?” I asked the Master Jedi.

 

Shaak Ti glanced at the full of energy teen and smiled.

 

“Oh, don't worry. I know how to make use of that. Padawan Tano, you've got some excessive energy to burn. You can never be in good enough shape. Start running around the courtyard without using the Force to rejuvenate yourself.” The Jedi Master ordered.

 

“There must be more battle droids around here! Or something else to do! Mater Ti! Please?” Ahsoka whined.

 

“Start running, Padawan!” Shaak Ti snapped with a voice that would have made any self-respecting drill instructor proud.

 

The younger Togruta pouted but started jogging.

 

“Tano! I said RUN!” Shaak Ti snapped.

 

Ahsoka jumped as if stung and sprinted away from the ire of the older woman.

 

“You seem able to manage her much better than Skywalker.”

 

The Jedi Master snorted with amusement.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 2**

**Munificent Class Frigate Shadow's Veil**

**Location Classified**

 

“The capture of Gunray is a serious threat to us. That fool was warned not to step foot on Rodia, at least until it was clear what danger Veil represents. He will break under Jedi interrogation. Even faster if this mercenary is allowed to get his hands on him.” Sidious ranted at his apprentice.

 

Dooku was kneeling in front of a hologram of his master and listening about the unexpected debacle that had befallen CIS. His anger spiked when the spineless Viceroy was mentioned.

 

“I am dealing with it, master. My best agent, Asajj Ventress will gain entrance to the Jedi's ship and deal with Gunray one way or another. Perhaps the mercenary too.“ Dooku outlined his plan.

 

“You have a great deal of faith in your pet, my friend. Especially when she had failed so often in the past. Alas I am afraid that she may not be enough. Not with a Dark Jedi of unknown power playing mercenary assisting the Council's puppets. Send Artel Darc with her. He should be close enough to intercept them.”

 

“As you command, master.” Dooku immediately agreed.

 

When the comm signal was cut from Palpatine, the Count rose up, revealing a frown marring his face. 'Damn that fool, Gunray!' he thought. With the information that slug had in his all too small brain, the Republic could wreck unholy chaos upon the Confederacy.

 

To make matters worse, there was a new element in an already chaotic situation. Ever since the visions of the future he and Sidious could gleam were shrouded by ripples in the Dark side a few weeks ago, any further complications weren’t welcome. For the first time since swearing his allegiance to Sidious, the Count was facing an uncertain future. It was not something he felt comfortable with. 'And isn't that thought such an understatement!' Dooku sneered.

 

The Count was still quietly fuming, when the armored doors leading to the bridge slid open and Ventress glided in. She was moving with the practiced ease of a trained predator.

 

“Master.” Her voice was quiet, almost sultry.

 

“Sidious has a task he wants done. One we can’t rail. You could afford no mistakes, child. A failure could spell disaster for the Confederation  and our master will be most displeased. I do not need to tell you what that entails. You must prove that you are worthy to be my apprentice, Asajj.“

 

“I am worthy, Master. I will prove it to you.” The assassin practically purred. Her lips twisted in a cruel smile.

 

“You’re to intercept a Republic ship carrying Nute Gunray who was captured just a few hours ago. Either retrieve or dispose of the worm. Be advised, there will be at least two Jedi on that ship plus a new variable – a mercenary.”

 

“That won’t be a problem, master.” Ventress looked confused.

 

“Do not underestimate the mercenary accompanying the Jedi. I sense danger when thinking about that man. He’s a Dark Jedi of some power, Asajj. That’s why my master deemed it best to sent Darc with you. The man is expendable in the great scheme of things. Use the his talents as you see fit. Just get the job done.”

 

**=RK=**

**On route to Republic cruiser Tranquility**

**Rodia’s orbit**

**Outer Rim**

 

After my civil conversation with his Sithiness himself, I was in for a boring day. Not that I minded the opportunity to stretch my legs and get a nap in a real bed after spending almost three days cooped up in the cockpit of my Torrent before arriving on Rodia.

 

The reason for the delay was typical one. The Jedi Council couldn’t make their mind about how best to transport the Viceroy after they were informed that I'll be tagging along. Gunray spent that time in a small tower near to the one from which we called reinforcements. It had a cell meant for Amidala after her capture, which we used on the Neimodeian. I appreciated the irony of the situation. It served the bastard well.

 

My only problem was that I was not permuted to interrogate him myself. Shaak Ti declared that the Council had not decided how to deal with him. The infernal woman was following me everywhere except the fresher not allowing me to have a quiet chat with the prisoner! And that infuriating, small smile... that made her face so different and alive compared to her usual severe expression... She was baiting me on purpose!

 

What were orders from the council anyway? For her to infuriate me into a murderous rage and get herself killed?!

 

Ahsoka was no help. After Master Ti ran her into the ground, the Padawan was too busy sleeping, ahem, meditating to be a nice conversation partner.

 

Shaak Ti appeared to be a quiet, private woman who I sensed would have liked to keep to herself but was unwavering in pursuing her duty. So no fun there. She was not interested in talking and I was not about to start pointing all the flaws of the Council and Jedi dogma before I knew her better and figured out what approach would work with her. If the Jedi leadership was consistent, I most likely would have time to figure her out, with her being my new minder.

 

I could not even get a heart to heart conversation with the clones at the facility! They were wary of the Jedi tagging along. And some of the bloody bastards were chuckling at my predicament. Cheeky bastards.

 

That leads me to the present. I was on board of a Consular class frigate which was used to ferry us to the cruiser tasked with carrying us to our destination. After the Jedi were unwilling to include me in the escort detail, Palpatine evidently threw his considerable weight around and arranged for the prisoner's transportation.

 

I was with Ahsoka and Master Ti in the cockpit of the relatively small craft. Behind us was Gunray who was wearing chains. That was my idea. A bit of creative use of the Force and the manacles which were meant for Amidala were holding him secure.

 

When we approached the cruiser one of the clone's piloting our frigate contacted it. On a screen over the windows of the cockpit appeared an image of three men in blue armor. Senate commandos. It will be a wonder if a single one of them was not faithful to Palpatine first. Or perhaps not. An attack aimed at rescuing the Neimoidian could be a good cover to dispose from dissenters in the ranks...

The Jedi Master took charge of the situation.

 

“Cruiser Tranquility, this is General Shaak Ti. We have the prisoner secure and request permission to dock.”

 

“You have it. We are awaiting the prisoner.”

 

“Thank you, captain Argyus.”

 

Meanwhile, I could hear Gunray trying to bribe the clones guarding him. I wondered how that would go down. With me and two Jedi on the frigate it was obvious that even if they wanted the troopers won't agree. But what interested me was how and why they would decline.

 

“This is a most generous offer, Viceroy. Considering that because of you and your cronies my brothers fight and die all over the galaxy, I'll have to decline. But I'll make you a counter-offer. Keep your damn mouth shut and I won't have to do it for you.” Growled the clone commander. That was the same one who I met yesterday after dispatching the twins.

 

As we were about to dock through the hanger in the belly of the Venator, Ahsoka muttered:

“Finally we'll get away from him.”

 

To be fair, Gunray’s whining was more than irritating and if it was not for my image as a level headed Sith, I would have seriously considered the benefits of ripping out his tongue as the phantom of Darth Vael suggested.

 

**=RK=**

 

Shaak Ti, Ahsoka and me plus Commander Green were the ones escorting the CIS leader to the detention center of the cruiser. Near it we were met by five men in blue armors led by the blonde captain with who Master Ti spoke.

 

“Greetings, General. We have a nice, dark cell waiting for this traitor.” said the commando officer.

 

“Excellent, Captain. Commander Green, lead the way.”

 

“Move!” the clone shoved Gunray in the back.

 

“How in the Force did such a worm as Gunray deserve the attention of senate commandos?!” exclaimed Ahsoka.

 

 

I lightly tapped the back of her head.

 

“Ouch!” she glared at me. “Why did you do that?!”

 

“By himself, that walking pile of slime is not dangerous. However as a high ranking leader of the CIS he undoubtedly knows a lot of their dirty secrets, not to mention relevant strategic information. With the delay between capturing him and the Council making their minds it is virtually guaranteed that the Separatists would make an effort to free or silence him. “I pointed at the commandos walking in front of us. “That's why they are here.”

 

“Your friend is correct, Jedi.” said the captain.

 

**=RK=**

**Tranquility**

**Leaving High orbit of Rodia**

 

I was with the two female Jedi in the cell where Gunray was chained for an interrogation table. I had the dubious “privilege” to observe how the protectors of the Republic tried to extract information from the Neimoidian. To say it was underwhelming would be a generous understatement. The way it was going there would be no questions answered. Just me, snapping and strangling the offensive politician with his own entrails. For ten minutes Shaak Ti asked the same questions and tried to gently persuade him to speak up. Then, suddenly things became much more interesting. I could feel anger rising within Ahsoka. The young Togruta had a low tolerance for Nute’s particular kind of bullshit. I could sense her tensing and briefly brushing with the Dark side before the anger became too much for the kid to handle and she lost her composure. Her anger spiked and she slapped her palms over the table in frustration.

 

“Liar! Liar! Stop your sniveling and tell us the truth!” Ahsoka snarled.

 

With one elegant motion she drew her saber and an emerald blade sprang to life from its hilt. Tano dashed forward and placed the humming beam of energy centimeters from the throat of the Neimoidian who was struggling with the manacles chaining him to the table.

 

“Tell us the truth right now, before I gut you like a fish!”

 

I was smirking under my helmet and watching the show. The girl had fire in her! Knowing that at some point she had ended up expelled from the Order (the damn fools!) and never came back, I was determined to help her. Such potential! Obviously she was not one of those who could not see past the Jedi's Dogma!

 

Shaak Ti moved in a bluer and grabbed Asoka’s sword arm and pulled the blade from Gunray's neck.

The prisoner slumped to the ground hyperventilating.

 

“Padawan Tano! What in the name of the Force do you think you are doing?! The Jedi do not use fear as a weapon!” Shaak Ti snapped at the younger woman.

 

“Even when it can end a battle or a war much faster thus saving lives?” I asked.

 

Then I turned to the girl and by the way she stiffened I knew she could feel my glare despite my helmet.

 

“As for you, Ahsoka, that was disappointing. You let your anger rule you instead the other way around! That's the problem with you Jedi! You have no damned idea how to handle your feelings! You do not fight your anger when you've been suppressing your emotions for as long as either of you had! You let it flow through you and channel it into something useful! “

 

The younger Togruta was about to say something but I cut her off.

 

“Do not dare lie to me young lady!” I snapped at her. “Giving us some story that you really did not mean it won't fly with me! I could feel your anger! You were deadly serious and that slug, “I pointed at Gunray who was now terrified, “has important information in his head. Intelligence that your precious Republic needs! What would have happened if you went and cut off his head?! “

 

“I'm sorry.” she mumbled. I could see her eyes becoming heavy with tears.

 

Bloody hell. I hate to see girls crying. Strange for a Sith, I know.

 

“Don't go moping around and instead learn from you mistake so it does not happen again. Ahsoka, you are a bright, you woman with her whole life in front of her. Do not waste it by giving in to your anger. “

 

“Sniff. Thanks.” Tano muttered.

 

“That's not what I expected from you, Delkatar.”

 

“Not this again! Why the hell would I want to turn Ahsoka into a murderous lunatic controlled by the Dark side?!” I bemoaned. How many times must I have the same damned conversation with different Jedi?!

 

“It’s the Sith way. You walk in the darkness. While most of your actions are atypical for one of your kind, I could sense the Dark side on you. It’s so intense that I could almost taste it.” Shaak Ti spoke quietly. Just loud enough for me to hear her.

 

“Because it is not, damn it! Unless you want to turn a bunch of Jedi into a bunch of half-mad dogs seaming for blood. Good to use as shock troops but little else. That is not something I want for Ahsoka.” I huffed with exasperation. “You saw her! One of this days, the Jedi would have to admit to themselves that you do feel. You can't cut off your emotions. Instead of burying your collective heads in the sand, re-learn how to deal with them.”

 

“Re-learn?”

 

“You've seen my record. The Jedi of old were not blind enough to pretend that they had no emotions.

 

‘Emotion, yet peace.’ Does that ring a bell?”

 

“That’s...” Master Ti's eyes widened when hearing that line.

 

“Yeah. Quite different, isn't it? If you want I'll tell you more about the Jedi of old. But now we have a job to do, don't we?” I asked and looked at the prisoner.

 

Gunray gulped.

 

“Ah. I was a bit hasty, wasn't I? Shall we negotiate?”

 

I snorted derisively and raised my right hand. My palm pointed at him and he could see lightning sparkling between my fingers.

 

“You answer all our questions truthfully and completely. And I do not practice my lightning on you. I can tell when you lie, Viceroy. Do not mistake me for a Jedi as those two fetching ladies. I am like your master.”

 

His eyes grew wide to a comic proportions.

 

“A Sith!?“ Gunray squealed like a little girl.

 

I sensed a tremor in the Force and moved driven by instinct. The ship shook under our feet and Mater Ti lost her balance when she tried to steady the still distraught Ahsoka. I caught her before she slammed into the table.

 

“Your friends are here, Viceroy. Do not count on them getting you out of this mess.”

 

**=RK=**

**Part 3**

**Republic cruiser Tranquility**

**Rodia star system**

**Outer Rim**

 

“We have multiple droid fighters and boarding ships incoming! Brace for impact!”

 

I could hear the captain's voice coming from the communicator build in the left arm-guard of Commander Green. When the skipper of the ship you are on becomes frantic you know that the situation is dire. That thought was neatly punctuated when four nearly simultaneous shudders rand down the bulk of the cruiser.

 

Commander Green had deployed his company in such positions as to block any push towards the brig. I hoped that it will be enough.

 

“You two feel it too, right?” I asked my Jedi companions.

 

The moment Tranquility was struck by what I presumed were boarding pods, I felt a disturbances in the force. We had company of the lightsaber wielding kind. If I had not kriffed up the time-line too much by now one of them should be Ventress. However this time she had decided to bring a friend or two.

“No! Check your fire! He has lightsaber!” A desperate shout came over the comm.

 

“Green leader, respond!” ordered the clone commander to no avail.

 

“There are at least two of them, Master Ti. Who do you want?”

 

“Ahsoka, guard the prisoner. We'll deal with the boarders.” ordered the older Togruta.

 

For once Tano did not argue and took position in front of the cell, which was flanked by two senate commandos.

 

The determination shining in her eyes and her fierce voice brought back memories best forgotten. A fresh, spicy smell... A soft touch and hot breath washing over my skin... I shook my head. The past was dead and buried. By now not even dust remained. I had to keep my head in the present.

 

“Go help the troops. I'll hunt down the other one.” said the Jedi Master.

 

I smiled. I could hear it in her voice. The trill of the hunt was burning within her heart. The instincts of the predators from which her kind evolved demanding to be unleashed. I just knew that she wanted to growl with eagerness that she had a prey to hunt. Pity that her Jedi training was restraining her.

 

“As you wish. May the Force be with you, Master Ti.”

 

“And with you.”

 

We separated at the elevators and headed in different directions.

 

**=RK=**

 

I met the remains of Green company soon enough. Those were four clones, one of which wounded and being tended by one of his brothers. The other two had their blasters pointed at a sealed blast doors which were being slowly but surely sliced open by a lightsaber.

 

“Move to the next intersection and use the side corridors as cover. I'll deal with this nuisance.”

 

“As you wish, sir! Good luck!”

 

The clones dragged their wounded brother with them as they ran for cover.

 

I prepared an Ion grenade that I “liberated” from the troops occupying Rodia. When a circle was cut into the blast doors, it was blasted away by a strong push with the Force. It was followed by a solid wall of blaster bolts which scorched the bulkheads but otherwise did not cause any damage. The next to come were Super Battle droids which tried to squeeze inside one by one. I lobbed the grenade after the first had passed and jumped away. A pulse of ion energy washed over the floor, walls and ceiling. The battle droid which had passed through the breached blast door fell in a twitching heap.

 

Another wave of force shoved the unfortunate machine away and a blonde man who was about my height rolled through the hole. Once he was on this side he immediately jumped on his feet and activated his lightsaber. I followed suit after drawing out my own.

 

He raised his weapon in a high, Djem So guard. His hands were over his head and the sword was slightly tilted backwards.

 

My answer was to fall in a Juyo stance. I held my weapon horizontally above my head and pointed to the right.

 

“Another of the so called Dark Acolytes wish to commit suicide or are you lost?” I snarked.

 

“Tsk.” The blond man glared at me. “You must have some skill to have dealt with the twins, but I am nothing like those weaklings!” he scoffed.

 

“Your name would be appreciated. I'll need it for the After Action Report. Who knows? I may get a bonus for you!” I grinned in typical mercenary fashion.

 

“Arrogant much?” the Dark Jedi scowled at me.

 

“Just sure in my abilities, whelp. Can you say the same?” I taunted.

 

For a moment I considered going all out and simply crushing the man, but threw that idea away. This had to be another test, I was sure of it and who knew how many cameras and witnesses there were nearby.

 

So it was another show for an unknown audience. It was kriffing irritating.

 

I charged in a blur of a motion before my last word finished leaving my lips.

 

Our crimson weapons slammed in each other with a flash of surging power. As our lightsabers met again and again, the discharged energy which escaped the containment fields surrounding our blades cast a sinister light over the corridor.

 

I let all the frustration, all the doubts and the uneasy feelings I had since I was reminded of Vael's wife to flow freely through me. They were washed away by waves of battle lust and fierce joy as I clashed with my opponent.

 

Our lightsabers locked together. My opponent leaned over the hilt of his saber in an attempt to push the buzzing blades into contact with me. I chuckled as my wrists twisted in just the right way to overbalance the Dark Jedi when I stepped to the side and let him ‘win’ our contest of strength. He spat a curse as he rolled forward to gain distance and prevent me from easily stabbing him in the back. However I had no intention to do so right now. My free hand was busy throwing live frag grenades through the hole cut by my adversary in the blast doors. I knew that Super Battle droids were somewhat resistant to Ion pulses and a single Ion grenade was enough to only disable them temporarily. I wanted to deal once and for all with the incapacitated machines so they did not interrupt me while I was busy with the Dooku's pawn. Three grenades flew through the breached door while my blade was slicing to pieces the only SB to pass through.

 

The blond man darted at me with his saber ready to deliver powerful overhead strike. I banished the glowing scrap of few droids at him. The Dark Jedi displayed an impressive skill in acrobatics. He sidestepped the first piece, moved his head to avoid a second and jumped in the air, twisting his body horizontally so he passed between two more fragments of machines I dismembered. It was a quite colorful and beautiful move. Also quite dumb.

 

I blasted him with a wave of telekinesis while he was still in the air and the man slammed in the bulkhead to the left. I jumped at him as the grenades on the other side of the blast door detonated in a shower of fire and lethal fragments. I caught the edge of the blast wave which propelled me faster to my target. The blond managed to roll away in the last possible moment – just I slammed my blade in the deck.

 

 

I withdrew the energy beam. The fingers of my left hand twitched and drops of molten plating flew at the Dark Jedi. He threw his arms in front of the molten metal and it froze in midair. The chunks of cooling deck bounced between our feet as our blades met again.

 

I parried a decapitating stoke and slammed an armored fist in my enemy's face. He tried to kick me while our weapons were still locked but I moved my left leg so the attack landed on my shin. Then I threw him with the Force so his back slammed in the bulkhead to the right. I was on him in the next heartbeat and he was barely able to interpose his blade between my lightsaber and his neck. I pushed with all my might and the beams of energy came nearer to him. His own saber was pushed backwards and the upper half of its blade bit at the bulkhead leaving a melting rend. As I redoubled my effort his own saber was coming closer and closer to his face.

 

With a surge of a desperation fueled strength he pushed me away and rolled to the left as I brought down my blade which cut deeply in the bulkhead. I dropped to my knees as his lightsaber slashed overhead in a swipe aimed at my back. I rotated to bring my weapon to bear at the blond who was doing the same. He pushed my blade at the wall and kicked me twice in the ribs. I grunted in pain as I felt something in my chest cracking. I snarled as my left hand moved to parry another kick which slammed me into the wall.

 

I used the brief opportunity while the Dark Jedi was pulling back his leg after he kicked me to readjust the way I held my weapon's hilt to a backhand grip. I used the mass of my whole body as I surged away from the bulkhead and broke the saber lock trapping my blade against the armored wall. I used my momentum to rotate my body and swept my crimson lightsaber in a circle around me.

 

The blonde used the same technique to regain his balance and counterattack. Our ruby colored blades struck each other with enough momentum to buckle their hilts within our grasps.

 

I was pissed off at the way I underestimated my opponent and channeled my building anger into my attacks. A web of blazing energy formed between us as I rained attack after attack at the Dark Jedi. With each strike he was stepping back. His attention was focused on me as he desperately parried the storm of slashes aimed at cutting him to pieces.

 

I looked behind him and gave a sharp nod. I saw a single moment of horrified realization in the blond man's eyes before the three, still hale clones, shot him in the back. His body shuddered as the blaster bolts hit him and he stumbled. He was already dying and unable to parry my next slash and my blade flew through his right wrist and my return strike took off his head.

 

“Note to self. Do not underestimate the kriffing Acolytes. Getting cocky will see me killed.” I spoke for the audience, though my anger was real.

 

Getting killed by the likes of Dooku’s groupies would be kriffing embarrassing.

 

I deactivated my lightsaber and gave a respectful nod to the clone troopers.

 

“Great work men. Get your friend to the med bay and then head to the detention center.”

 

I headed towards the cell block a bit slower than I could. My mind was preoccupied with calming me down and using the Force to mend my cracked ribs. While in the heat of combat I barely felt a tingle of pain but now it flared as if I had a dagger sticking from my chest. The second kick might have done a bit more damage than I realized. I grunted as something shifted within my chest and my left side was gripped by a brief lance of agony before a wave of warmth drowned it. It was amazing! I could feel my bones fusing together and whatever internal damage there was shrinking under the gentle caress of the Force!

 

My brief distraction cost me when the ship lurched under my feet and I stumbled. Armored helmet met a bulkhead and my head bounced inside the cage of durasteel supposed to keep my brain intact. It was as if the captain was performing evasive maneuvers in a kriffing fighter!

 

“What in the nine Corellian hells is going on?!” I growled and stood up. The main power was obviously off and emergency lighting were snapping on all around the ship.

 

I ran towards the cells. I was halfway there when my comm cracked to life.

 

“This is Commander Green! We need back up! The Jedi went after Ventress and we are under heavy attack by commando droids!”

 

“I am on my way, commander! Hold your position!” I said to the clone and pushed myself to run even faster.

 

**=RK=**

 

It took me a minute to reach the elevators leading to the detention center. I got there moments after five black humanoid droids. Four of them were holding blasters and the last had a blade forged from some kind of dark colored metal. If its creators had any sense it was at least covered with cortosis.

The droid wielding melee weapon sprinted towards me while its cronies opened fire. In that moment it jumped out of the way and ran over the left wall!

 

Thanks to the Force, which was not only enhancing my reflexes but showing me where the blaster bolts would go the instant before the droids fired I was able to easily deflect them. However the machines were not standing still. Advanced predictive programing guided them as they rained fire upon me and moved in such a way as to minimize the chance of a deflected shot hitting them.

 

It was not good enough. A droid crumbled to the ground after a bolt of energy shattered its neck. Another had its blaster smashed.

 

Then the blade wielding robot was upon me and the hail of gunfire tapered off. It jumped from the wall and flew towards me with its weapon leading the way. I caught the droid commando with fingers of invisible energy and held it as a shield. The little hut spawn tilted its head and his arms moved behind its back. I heard a familiar click and hurled it towards its brethren with all my might. As soon as it flew away I gathered as much Force as I could and molded it as a shield in front of me. The grenades the droid had activated obliterated it short of its comrades. The remaining robots were obscured by a solid wall of flames and shrapnel which hit my shield like the fist of angry Titan. My armored boots scrapped over the deck as I was pushed backwards by the shock-wave. I could feel my armor heating up and the Emperors cursed explosion was still going on!

 

I snarled and pushed more Force into my shield, hoping it would be enough.

 

**=RK=**

**Part 4**

**Planet Shili**

**Ehosiq sector**

**Expansion Region**

 

I was racing over a field of thick, red grass which stretched as far as the eyes could see. My speeder's engine whined in protest as I pushed it far beyond the speeds for which it was rated. Only my iron grip over the Force allowed the straining machine to continue moving at the breathtaking pace I was pushing it. The vehicle was moving at nearly four hundred kilometers per hour but it was far from enough. I could sense it in my bones and no matter how hot the rage I felt was getting, it did not change the facts. Barring a miracle I was going to be too late!

 

I could almost see how my wife was fighting for her life more than two hundred clicks away. Even from here I could sense the men and women attacking her. From time to time one of their Force signatures winked away but it was a drop in the bucket. There was at least a platoon of Republic commandos and a strike team of Jedi. To make matters worse, the kriffing sons of banthas were there for me but instead were attacking my wife and her apprentice!

 

Half hour. It was all it took me to get there. It felt like eternity. I experienced every single bruise, the smallest of cuts that Ashara received. Her fury when Selit Roak, the kid she had taken under her wing was cut down. The impact of blaster bolts splashing on her shields and the ones scarring her armor.

She was weakening. Laser swords and cortosis forged blades were keeping her in the center of a lethal whirlwind as she did her best to keep the weapons away from her. But now and then an attack slipped through her defenses. One nicked her left shoulder, another – her right thigh.

 

I was only five minutes away when my heart was torn away from my chest. Ashara made one mistake and three lightsaber blades pierced her chest. I sensed the Force trembling as all the energy she used to keep up with the people murdering her dissipated.

 

For one last moment the connection we shared for years flared to life and I could hear her saying “Goodbye Vael. I...”

 

I felt her soft hands touching my face and a brush of a feathery kiss over my dry lips. A ghostly outline of angelic face smiled at me sadly and disappeared in a thousand moths of bluish light.

 

My screams of unrelenting rage sent the wildlife running in panic for dozens of kilometers around me.

When I reached the small house which used to be my wife's family ancestral home, it was burning fiercely. I could see Republic troopers tending to their wounded and a female Jedi kneeling next to a prone form which I instantly recognized as my wife's body.

 

With a furious below I jumped from my speeder. My lightsaber flew into my outstreched hand and roaring to life. With a wave of the Force I sent my ride flying at a group of surprised commandos. The energy field that I maintained to keep the speeder in one piece evaporated and the machine blew up taking the shocked troops with it.

 

I landed between a pair of commandos who were struggling to rise up their weapons. The one to the right few back bisected by my blade. The other one grasped his trachea as I used the Force to pulverize it. He gurgled and fell to his knees, drowning in his own blood.

 

The female Jedi, a white haired Echani woman, stood up and looked at me with shock and fear. A torrent of lightning blew her away from my wife's body which she was busy desecrating.

My head turned to the right where a commando was pointing a carbine at my head. He opened fire as I was rising my sword to deflect his attack. Azure bolt of energy raced straight at me...

 

**=RK=**

**Republic cruiser Tranquility**

**Near Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

My eyes snapped open and starred at the barrel of a blaster. It fired from point blank range and almost blinded me when its red bolt dissipated over my active shield. Funny. I did not remember activating it.

I clamped my left hand around the weapon's barrel and twisted it away despite the metal fingers gripping it from the other side. I glared at the scorched droid which tried to end me. An echo from the fury I felt during my dream of the past empowered me. Fury fueled power coursed through my whole being coloring the worlds with crimson hues. The commando droid struggled with me for possession of the rifle but that abruptly ended when my attention got back to the machine. It shuddered as its torso was squashed by fingers made by the Force itself.

 

I threw the pile of scrap behind me and stood up on unsteady legs. The explosion almost did me in. Those were not frag grenades the droid used to blew itself. Oh, no. Thermal detonators. If it was not for me subconscious activating my energy shield as well as throwing that wall of Force between me and the explosion I would have cooked in my armor. At best.

 

As it was I was only knocked out for couple of minutes if the clock inside my still active HUD was correct. The silver lining was that the detonation had dealt with the remaining droids with the notable exception of that one which tried to shoot me in the head. I could not feel others of their kind around.

I wasted another minute to retrieve my lightsaber which was in the back of the corridor under some debris. At least it was intact.

 

**=RK=**

 

When I got to the detention center I found pandemonium. More than a dozen dead clones and all but one of the Senate commandos were littering the floors. They had taken twice their number of commando droids down but that was small comfort. I headed to the only living being in this facility – Commander Green who was slumped on the deck in front of Gunray's open cell. I retrieved a med pack from the small of my back and used it to hastily patch up the man. Then I opened my senses and ran towards the main hangar.

 

I could feel Ahsoka and Shaak Ti fighting with a Dark side user. Ventress. But I ignored their struggle. The Neimoidian was near to the frigate with which we came aboard! I could not let the bastard escape yet he was too far away to reach before he boarded the smaller ship!

 

My thoughts raced frantically until a crazy idea occurred to me. I sealed my armor and headed towards my new destination.

 

**=RK=**

 

Nute Gunray was dragged through the cruiser by that rude captain who was in the employ of Dooku. He did not like the human but at least the traitor was getting him away!

 

The Viceroy was thankful to all Deities that might exist that the Sith that captured him and was about to interrogate him was not shown himself. It was very good thing that Ventress was distracting the Jedi. That little Togruta was insane!

 

They were few meters away from the frigate's docking ramp. If it was not for the need for a brief detour to open the hangar doors they would have been on board by now.

 

The pair gawked when an escape pod screamed through the opening in the belly of the Venator and skidded to a screeching halt nearby. Its airlock was torn away and a figure in black jumped out. Captain Argyus grabbed the neimoidian by the neck and used him as a live shield against the unexpected visitor.

 

**=RK=**

 

'I couldn't believe that worked!' I thought when I exited the escape pod  and faced the traitor and the prisoner.

 

Using it to sling around the cruiser and to enter the hangar while the escape attempt was nearly successful had actually worked! It was good enough that after that memory of Darth Vael I had enough control over the Force to steer the small pod on the needed course.

 

“Viceroy. It is not polite to snub our hospitality in such a way. We were just getting to the interesting part.” I snarled. Dreaming of my wife’s murder while briefly unconscious had my control over my fury wavering.

 

“You want him alive. So we are going to board this ship and leave peacefully.” The commando tried to appear tough.

 

I smiled at the fool.

 

“That ship already left. There are three Separatist frigates on the way and the reinforcements from the planet won't reach us before them. With this cruiser crippled the only reason they are not blowing us away is Ventress and Gunray. You are not leaving.”

 

“Then surrender and I may yet show you mercy!” sneered Gunray.

 

“You are unlucky little bugger, Nute. You know my dirty little secret and that’s something I want to keep from your Master for the time being.” I smiled at the overgrown toad.

 

My fury needed an outlet and those two fools were conveniently here.

 

Before either of them could react I threw my lightsaber at them. I gently willed its activation button to press down and its blade activated mid-flight. It speared them both.

 

The feeling of their shock and despair as they comprehended that this was the end of their path was like a sweet wine for my senses. But I had no time to enjoy the destruction of two minor enemies.

Feeling them die made my fury abate for a moment – just long enough  that I could rein in in and place it under my control instead of the other way around.

 

“Captain, do you copy?” I spoke in the comm unit build in my helmet.

 

“Who is this?”

 

“Delkatar Veil. I'm with the Jedi. I have an idea of how to even the odds a bit but I need everyone who knows how to pilot a fighter here yesterday.”

 

“I'll give the order. We need all the help we can get. The main reactor is scrammed. We are on auxiliary power and won't last long against these odds. The only reinforcements that will reach us on time are a squadron of fighters escorting a wing of bombers. Then an Acclamator few minutes later. The rest of the task force won't make it here before it’s too late.”

 

“So what's new?! Just get me these pilots. And turn the ship so the lower hanger is hidden from the Sep's view.”

 

**=RK=**

**Munificent class frigate Revenge**

**Near Rodia**

**Outer Rim**

 

General Grievous glared at the crippled Venator on which his target waited. Gunray, that worthless worm. Hopefully he'll get himself killed this time. However, the Viceroy was not what interested him. That Sith spawn that cut off his limbs was said to be on board that ship! But he could not just blast it into little pieces! Not with Dooku's precious apprentice there. If he did so the Sith would have what was left of his guts for dinner. Another failure so soon after the debacle with the Malevolence wouldn't be tolerated. The General seethed quietly.

 

His Task force was racing towards its prey. All fighters were already launched as a screen covering the two scores of boarding craft. With any luck he'd have the man who humiliated him so easily!

“Uh, sir. A frigate class ship just appeared behind the cruiser. Now its launching fighters.”

 

“Blast them all! Fire!”

 

Grievous watched as his droid fighters and the turbolasers which would bare fired on the approaching red frigate. To his surprise, the Torrent fighters were using the shadow of the small ship as a cover from the heavy barrage.

 

The frigate was speeding up, obviously hopping to somehow survive the onslaught long enough to escape into hyperspace after covering the small craft. He knew that it was very likely that Gunray was on board that ship so he ordered a Munificent to physically block its flight.

 

If he could he would have grinned. The frigate's shields were straining and the craft was unlikely to survive passing through his formation. And with the speed it had gained it was too late to try breaking off. That left only the Republic fighters as a threat but they'd be dealt with by his own after the boarding ships were all over the Venator.

 

**=RK=**

 

I grinned. The frigate I was controlling was holding a bit better than expected. The shields were tatters but I had dumped all power either in them or the overloading engines. In front of me the closest Munificent, which was the on the right flank of the enemy Task force was becoming huge. The small fleet's commander had maneuvered its ships to prevent the frigate from jumping into hyperspace. Physical objects on the way tended to do that.

 

The frigate shook as a stray turbo-laser bolt slipped through a gap in its failing shields but it was too late to stop it. I watched with a smile as the armored nose of the CIS ship raced towards me. Even if the collision did not take out the Munificent, it would shatter its shields and permit the Torrents to salvo their concussion missiles in its fragile bridge.

 

All I could see was the bulk of the enemy frigate rushing towards me then everything went dark.


End file.
